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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43586 ***
+
+ THE HOME AND COLONIAL LIBRARY.
+
+
+
+
+Published Monthly, Price 2_s._ 6_d._, or alternate Months, Price
+6_s._ in cloth,
+
+
+ MURRAY'S
+
+ HOME AND COLONIAL LIBRARY.
+
+ CONSISTING OF
+
+ ORIGINAL WORKS AND REPRINTS OF POPULAR PUBLICATIONS,
+
+ AT THE LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICE.
+
+
+ Volumes already Published.
+
+ 1. _Borrow's Bible in Spain._
+ 2-3. _Heber's Journals in India._
+ 4. _Irby and Mangles' Travels--Siege of Gibraltar._
+ 5. _Hay's Morocco--Letters from the Baltic._
+ 6. _The Amber Witch--Cromwell and Bunyan._
+ 7. _New South Wales--Barrow's Life of Drake._
+ 8. _Father Ripa's Memoirs--Lewis's West Indies._
+ 9. _Malcolm's Sketches of Persia._
+ 10. _French in Algiers--Fall of the Jesuits._
+ 11. _Bracebridge Hall. By Washington Irving._
+ 12. _Darwin's Voyage of a Naturalist._
+ 13. _Lord Mahon's Life of Condé._
+ 14. _Borrow's Gypsies of Spain._
+ 15. _Melville's Typee, or the Marquesas._
+ 16. _Livonian Tales--Memoirs of a Missionary._
+ 17. _Sale's Brigade--Letters from Madras._
+ 18. _St. John's Wild Sports of the Highlands._
+ 19. _Head's Pampas--Sieges of Vienna by the Turks._
+ 20. _Ford's Gatherings from Spain._
+ 21. _Sketches of German Life._
+ 22. _Melville's Omoo; or The South Seas._
+ 23. _Gleig's Battle of Waterloo._
+ 24. _The River Amazon--Wayside Cross._
+
+
+ JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
+
+
+
+
+ A POPULAR ACCOUNT
+
+ OF THE
+
+ MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF INDIA.
+
+
+ Illustrated with Numerous Anecdotes.
+
+
+ BY THE
+
+ REV. CHARLES ACLAND,
+
+ LATE CHAPLAIN AT POOREE, CUTTACK, AND MIDNAPORE.
+
+
+ LONDON:
+ JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
+
+ 1847.
+
+
+London: Printed by W. CLOWES and SONS, Stamford Street.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+The author of the present work was a clergyman, who, along with his
+wife, quitted England about the beginning of the year 1842, leaving
+behind him several young children, to whom, as appears from the
+letters he constantly addressed to them, he was most affectionately
+attached.
+
+They left the country full of hope that they should all be reunited
+at some future period; but, before he had been three years exposed
+to the climate of India, he fell a victim to it. It is somewhat
+melancholy to find him at the outset rejoicing in the very
+circumstance which in some measure perhaps occasioned his death. The
+first destination selected for him was little in accordance with
+his own taste; and when it subsequently was altered from Assam to
+Cuttack, he expresses himself delighted with the change, though the
+first-named province was much more remarkable for its healthfulness
+than that to which he at length proceeded.
+
+Mr. Acland felt the warmest interest in the education of his
+children, and, to improve their minds, determined, on quitting
+England, to send home, from time to time, accurate accounts of his
+progress, that they might be made acquainted with all he beheld--the
+places through which he passed, the aspect of the country, its
+climate, productions, flowers, trees, shrubs, and wild animals.
+Many an interesting adventure is related in these pages which the
+author met with in the jungle; the beating of which by the hunting
+parties, who go forth in bands for that purpose, is described with an
+animation calculated to awaken much interest.
+
+The letters addressed by Mr. Acland to his children have now been
+thrown into the form of a Journal, as this method was considered best
+suited to the general reader. The Editor has, however, been careful
+to preserve throughout the easy familiar style in which the father
+first wrote them, that to the children of others they may be equally
+acceptable and useful.
+
+The books hitherto published on India have been in general, from
+their bulk, confined to persons arrived at a more advanced period of
+life; and the Editor of the present volume hopes in some measure to
+familiarise the subject by bringing it down nearer the comprehension
+of the youthful reader. This work is intended to describe Indian
+manners in an interesting way, and will in some measure, it is hoped,
+supply a portion of the want that has long existed in our literature
+in this respect. To render the subject more attractive, Mr. Acland
+was careful to introduce anecdotes and short narratives throughout,
+which are calculated to amuse, while instruction is at the same time
+conveyed.
+
+One distinguishing feature may be observed in the whole--viz. a
+fervent spirit of devotion, which breathes through every page of the
+original manuscript. Such passages the Editor has thought it better
+to omit, as the advice from a father to his children, clothed in the
+simple language he considered it best to employ, though beautiful
+and touching in itself, would scarcely appear interesting to the
+general reader. For this reason the substance of his counsel has been
+compressed into the present brief Preface.
+
+He impresses upon his children the necessity of living ever in
+brotherly love, of sustaining and comforting one another, and of
+seeking the Divine aid in every emergency of life, whether great or
+small. He shows them how, by trusting implicitly in God and acting
+according to His commandments, they will attain a peace of mind
+above all the happiness which an indulgence in the pleasures of this
+life can bestow. He explains to them, in the gentlest terms, how
+necessary it is for their welfare here and hereafter that they should
+act ever in accordance with the expressed wishes of the Almighty;
+and that they must never cease to remember that He moves about them
+everywhere, and sees their every action, hears each passionate word,
+beholds each unbecoming gesture, and will reward or punish according
+as they indulge in or abstain from evil. In several beautiful
+passages he portrays the unceasing watchfulness of the Almighty in
+providing for our daily wants, in supplying us with every necessary
+of life; and inquires, with truth, Ought not every little heart to
+be daily grateful to Him, without whose will the sun cannot shine,
+or rise, or set; without whose will the refreshing showers could
+not force and raise up around us the beautiful and necessary things
+of life? Then he inquires, How can we better show our gratitude for
+these blessings than by acting in accordance with the wishes of Him
+who is the cause of so much good?
+
+These words were spoken by a father to his own children; but I would
+ask those of my young friends into whose hands this little volume may
+fall, does it not equally touch them? Do they not feel the truth of
+these sentences? Coming over the many thousand miles which stretch
+between India and this country, these letters were cherished the more
+by the three little children to whom they were addressed; and now
+that the hand is cold which traced the lines, how much more will they
+be prized!
+
+Whatever may be the fate of the volume with the public, to those
+whom it more intimately concerns it will be a lasting remembrance of
+their father, and of the melancholy circumstances connected with his
+early death. For their sake, the Editor trusts that the present work
+may meet with at least a moderate share of success; and that, in the
+endeavour to render more familiar to the youthful mind the names and
+habits of some of the inhabitants of India, he may not altogether
+fail.
+
+ _London, Sept. 1847._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ Page
+ MADRAS, _June, 1842_.
+
+ Departure from England in March--Tremendous storm off Ushant--Ship
+ becalmed at the equator--Great heat--Danger of sleeping in
+ moonlight in hot climates--Storm off the Cape--Great speed of the
+ vessel--Thunderstorm at the equator--Arrival at Madras--The
+ mungoose; its usefulness in houses--Mother-of-pearl--Contrivances
+ for abating the heat--Fakirs--Curious disease--Salutation of
+ Europeans by natives--Employment of time
+ 1
+
+
+ _July 1._
+
+ Native wedding--Visit to the Newab--Jugglers
+ 6
+
+
+ CALCUTTA, _July 15_.
+
+ Voyage up the Hoogly--Waterspout--The bishop's palace--Appointment
+ to the province of Assam--Great number of tigers at Calcutta--Mode
+ of voyaging--Language of natives--Number of servants necessary
+ 7
+
+
+ _August 6._
+
+ Change of appointment from Assam to Cuttack--Dangers of
+ travelling--Mode of living--"Bore" in the Hoogly
+ 9
+
+
+ MIDNAPORE, _September 12_.
+
+ Leave Calcutta--Accident on the Hoogly--Dâk-travelling--State
+ of the road--Arrival at Midnapore--A bungalow--Trees and
+ plants--Mode of providing animal food--Destructiveness of
+ ants--Snakes--Monkeys--Encounter with a buffalo--Soil, climate,
+ and productions of Midnapore--Expenses of living--List of servants
+ 10
+
+
+ _September 15._
+
+ "Poujah of tools:" a rustic festival
+ 17
+
+
+ _October 9._
+
+ Thunderstorms--Mode of taking birds--Costume--Coins--Insects--
+ Dinner-parties--Language--Strictness of caste regulations among
+ servants--Employment of women--Disposal of the body after
+ death--Dustoorie--The white ant
+ 17
+
+
+ _November 11._
+
+ Antics of the monkey--Parrots--Fierceness of the hyæna--Small
+ grey squirrel--Narrow escape from a cobra--Its bite seldom
+ cured--Vegetable productions--Usefulness of the bamboo--Dishonesty
+ of servants
+ 21
+
+
+ _November 12._
+
+ Earthquake--Population of India--Religions--Money--Designations
+ of Europeans by natives--Mode of life
+ 26
+
+
+ _December 13._
+
+ Hiring of hackeries--Importunacy of natives--Encounter with a
+ bear--Goats
+ 29
+
+
+ _December 14._
+
+ Birds'-nests--Cost of dress--Weather--Temperature
+ 31
+
+
+ _December 16._
+
+ Anonymous reptile--Destruction of serpents by the mungoose
+ 32
+
+
+ BALASORE, ORISSA, _December 30_.
+
+ Balasore--Volcanic hills--Hill of the large white ant--Human
+ skulls--Beautiful plumage of birds
+ 32
+
+
+ _January 2, 1843._
+
+ Legend of the origin of the hills at Balasore--Immense number of
+ ants'-nests; their mode of building--Great abundance of these
+ insects
+ 34
+
+
+ _January 3._
+
+ Journey from Midnapore--Mode of travelling--Danton--Jelasore--The
+ fort--Ancient inscription--India-rubber tree--Attack by a
+ tiger--A hungry bear--Paucity of furniture--Palanquin-bearers'
+ songs--Fuel--False alarm--Jackals and crows the scavengers of the
+ country
+ 36
+
+
+ CUTTACK, _February 2_.
+
+ Journey from Balasore--Barripore--Gratuities to bearers--
+ Fruit-trees--Alligators--Mortality of Juggernat'h pilgrims--Sleeping
+ arrangements--The Mohurrun--Position of Cuttack--Sea-breezes--Mode
+ of irrigation--Ancient fort--Origin of the Mohurrun--Furious
+ winds
+ 43
+
+
+ _February 13._
+
+ Proposed new village--Depredations of tigers--Gold-dust
+ 50
+
+
+ _March 4._
+
+ Excursion to Chogga--Sporting--Human skeleton--Wild bull--The
+ village--Converts--Mode of starting the game--Assembly of native
+ Christians--"Inquirers"--Conversation on religion--Baptism--
+ Degradation and loss of caste on embracing Christianity--Return to
+ Cuttack--Comet--Remarkable weather
+ 50
+
+
+ _April 13._
+
+ Narrow escape from a snake--Hindu festival--Chena poojah, or swinging
+ festival--Elephant-riding--Sporting
+ 60
+
+
+ _April 15._
+
+ Domestic arrangements--Furniture--Old Cuttack--Degeneracy of modern
+ Indians
+ 64
+
+
+ _April 17._
+
+ Chena poojah--Self-torture of devotees--Cotton-tree
+ 67
+
+
+ JUGGERNAT'H, _May_.
+
+ Pooree--Pleasant temperature--The temple--Danger from sharks in
+ bathing
+ 68
+
+
+ CUTTACK, _August 7_.
+
+ Mofussil society--Morning visits--Costume--Dinner-parties
+ 69
+
+
+ _August 29._
+
+ Ourang-outang--Monkeys--Bachelor's party--The Commissioner--Tiger
+ story--Power of the human eye over the lower animals--Bats--Plan
+ to improve society--A "good gardener"--Cruel treatment of
+ servants by Europeans--Milder punishment adopted by the author
+ 73
+
+
+ _October 12._
+
+ Return from Midnapore--Heavy rain--Description of a palanquin
+ 84
+
+
+ _November 8._
+
+ Bengal tiger--Mode of hunting the boar--Anecdotes of tigers--Poison
+ of the cobra--Chanderpore--Sea-scorpions--Relief-fund
+ 86
+
+
+ BARRIPORE, _November 28_.
+
+ Solitude--Power of Europeans over natives--Their social
+ relations--Rapid progress of disease
+ 89
+
+
+ CUTTACK, _December 10_.
+
+ Elephant-hunting--Juggernat'h festival--Its support by
+ Government--Pilgrims--Mode of expression in the East--A grateful
+ servant--Number and names of servants--Their generally unkind
+ treatment--Gratitude and honesty of natives: instances--Rajah Bheere
+ Singh--His testimony to personal security in the Company's
+ territory--An unexpected meeting
+ 92
+
+
+ _December 25._
+
+ Choudwar--Sporting--Hyæna chase--Pariah-dog
+ 99
+
+
+ _January 2, 1844._
+
+ Military sportsmen--A false alarm--Moral--Costume regulations of
+ Hindus--Mode of evasion
+ 102
+
+
+ BARRIPORE, _January 5_.
+
+ Mirage at Pooree
+ 103
+
+
+ GUZZEEPUDDEE, _January 12_.
+
+ Journey from Balasore--Scenery--A water-race--Encampment--A
+ nocturnal visitor
+ 105
+
+
+ BARRIPORE, _January 16_.
+
+ Excursion to the Neilghur hills--Change of temperature and
+ scenery--Skeleton of a boa constrictor
+ 109
+
+
+ MIDNAPORE, _February 1_.
+
+ Excursion to Bhohoneswar and Cundeegurree--Temples--Inscriptions--
+ Attack of inflammation of the liver
+ 111
+
+
+ _February 15._
+
+ Second visit to the Neilghur hills--A beyraghee and his
+ enclosure--Encampment at Bengwharrie--Hunnamun monkeys--Game--Peafowl
+ shooting--Bhohoneswar: its temples--Magnificence of the principal
+ temple--Cundeegurree--Inscriptions--Caves--Devotees--Palace of the
+ ancient Rajahs--Statue: considerations suggested by its
+ costume--Anecdote of an elephant
+ 112
+
+
+ POOREE, _May 26_.
+
+ A thunderstorm--Peculiarly fearful at Pooree
+ 122
+
+
+ _May 29._
+
+ Temperature at Pooree and at Cuttack--Modes of conveyance--Ponies--
+ Arrangements for sleeping in comfort--The Rajah of Neilghur--His
+ interview with the Commissioner--Costume and appointments--
+ Elephants--Hunting-party--Arrival at Neilghur--Adventure with a
+ boar--Uncivil treatment of Rajahs
+ 122
+
+
+ CUTTACK, _July 4_.
+
+ Salt-monopoly--Unjust treatment of the manufacturers--Juggernat'h--
+ Religion of the Brahmins--The idol--The procession--Immense number
+ of pilgrims--Numerous deaths--Evil omen
+ 131
+
+
+ _August 10._
+
+ Brindabund monkeys--Indian marriages--Frequent results--Peacocks
+ 136
+
+
+ _September 14._
+
+ Plague of insects--A night's rest--The bath
+ 138
+
+
+ _October 13._
+
+ Government doctors--Monkeys--Goats--Electric phenomenon
+ 139
+
+
+ _November 14._
+
+ Rapid vegetation--Early maturity and decay of natives--Necessity for
+ employment of the mind--Mode of passing time--Flower and kitchen
+ gardens--An armadillo--A whale on shore
+ 141
+
+
+ KHOUTAH, _December 16_.
+
+ Antiquity of Indian religions--Manner of disposal of the dead
+ 144
+
+
+ JENKIA, _January 4, 1845_.
+
+ Mr. G., the collector and magistrate of Pooree--Departure for
+ Khoordagurree--Regularity of seasons
+ 145
+
+
+ TANGHI, _January 5_.
+
+ Manner of travelling--Soonercollee--Splendid scenery--Chelka
+ Lake--Islands--Water-fowl--Flamingo
+ 146
+
+
+ MIDNAPORE, _February 14_.
+
+ Sporting on the banks of the Chelka Lake--Chase by a bear
+ 150
+
+
+ CUTTACK, _April 2_.
+
+ Travelling--Hunting antelopes--Snaring game--The sportsmen chased
+ by pigs
+ 152
+
+
+ POOREE, _April 26_.
+
+ Fatal illness of author
+ 155
+
+
+ _May 8._
+
+ Abrupt conclusion
+ 155
+
+
+
+
+A POPULAR ACCOUNT
+
+OF THE
+
+MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF INDIA.
+
+
+
+
+Madras, June, 1842.
+
+
+We quitted England in the course of March, 1842, and reached Madras
+in the month of June of the same year. I shall give but a brief
+sketch of our voyage.
+
+Soon after leaving England, having arrived near Ushant, situated
+on the north-west coast of France, a tremendous storm came on; the
+waves rose high and washed the deck, while the ship itself pitched
+to such a degree that the very dinner rolled off the table; in the
+night my wife was tossed out of bed, and thrown to the other side of
+the cabin. We were in the greatest danger of being drowned. I started
+out of my hammock, but was unable to stand upright. Towards morning,
+however, the wind abated.
+
+After this storm had passed, the ship went forward rapidly until
+we reached the equator, where she lay becalmed for several days.
+The heat at this point of our voyage was excessive; we used to lie
+about on the deck almost all night, taking care, however, to cover
+our faces if the moon was shining; for it is said that, in these hot
+climates, if any one goes to sleep under its light, he is in danger
+of losing his sight, and even his life.[1]
+
+We now proceeded more slowly until we had rounded the Cape of Good
+Hope, where another storm came on. Every sail was taken in; yet,
+without their assistance, we ran, in two days, 545 miles. The waves
+rose as high as mountains, and the ship seemed to toil up one side,
+and to send the bowsprit up into the air, then, plunging down again,
+seemed to bury it in the sea. I was standing with my wife at the door
+of the dinner cabin when a large wave burst in through the upper part
+of the ship, flooded the room, and shivered one of our large boats to
+atoms.
+
+As we were passing the equator, too, we suffered from a tremendous
+thunderstorm. The heat was excessive: not a breath of wind stirred
+the air. About twelve o'clock a little cloud, about the size of
+a man's hand, rose in the horizon: gradually it spread until it
+hung like a huge black mass over the ship. I stood and watched its
+increase, when suddenly a vivid flash of lightning shot from the
+heavens, and almost blinded me. At the same moment a crash of thunder
+bellowed round the ship like the noise of a thousand cannons. The
+lightning slightly struck one of our passengers and the mate, but did
+not inflict any serious injury. The rain now descended: not a sharp
+thick shower, such as you may witness in England, but as it were all
+in one mass, and soon every trace of the storm passed away; the sun
+burst forth, and the ship and sails were dried in the course of a few
+minutes.
+
+Calm weather was ours now until we reached Madras. During our voyage
+we observed many curious kinds of birds, the principal of which
+was the stormy petrel. These creatures quit the land, and fly many
+thousand miles over the sea in the track of ships, following them by
+night and by day. The whale-bird is about the size of a thrush, white
+in colour, and may be seen hovering about the great fish from which
+it derives its name.
+
+ [Sidenote: CAPE PIGEON.]
+
+The Cape pigeon is a very beautiful creature, about the size of our
+own pigeon, white, with black spots on its body, and a blue, glossy
+head. We several times amused ourselves with catching them; and the
+way we contrived was, to let fly from our hands a piece of thread
+several yards in length, which was carried out by the wind, and the
+pigeon, flying across it, became entangled in it. In fluttering
+about in the endeavour to extricate itself, it became only more
+firmly secured; and then, drawing the string towards us, we caught
+the bird, and, placing it on the deck, suffered it to walk about. The
+legs of this pigeon are so peculiarly formed that they are unable
+to spring up from the ground, and can only rise from the crest of a
+wave, or throw themselves from the edge of a rock. The albatross is a
+large white bird, which has been known to measure fourteen or sixteen
+feet from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. We used to
+catch them sometimes by casting out a hook and line, as for a fish.
+
+The Cape hen, which follows the ship in flocks, is large and black,
+measuring about ten feet from wing to wing. Occasionally we caught
+a glimpse of the tropic-bird, called by the sailors the boatswain,
+because of its long pointed tail resembling the pigtail which these
+men used formerly to wear.
+
+ [Sidenote: PILOT-FISH, ETC.]
+
+The booby is a large brown bird, about as big as a common hen. I must
+not forget to tell you something about the pilot-fish. Every shark,
+whether old or young, is accompanied by a little fish about twelve
+inches long, and striped like a zebra, which keeps always near the
+nose of the shark, and seems to guide him to his food.
+
+As I have in this place said so much about birds and fishes, I may
+as well tell you a little about the animals here in Madras. The
+first I shall mention is the cow, by which all the carts and many of
+the carriages are drawn along--sometimes, too, very swiftly. They
+are much smaller than English cows, and have a hump on their backs.
+Camels may be seen in the streets patiently carrying heavy loads of
+goods: the people, however, treat them very cruelly.
+
+As I was going to the cathedral last Sunday I saw a mungoose, a
+little green and yellow animal, something between a ferret and a
+squirrel. It is said that when bitten by a snake it runs and rubs the
+place over with the juice of a certain plant, which immediately cures
+it.
+
+My samee, or native manservant, who is a Malay, gave me one about as
+large as a kitten, and quite as playful. It will attain to the size
+of a cat; it follows me about, sleeps on the foot of the bed, and if
+a snake comes into the room will instantly kill it. When an Indian
+mother wishes to go out, she need only just tell the mungoose to mind
+the cradle, and then he lies down by it, and suffers neither man nor
+reptile to approach. This creature, once tamed, is quite wretched out
+of human society.
+
+The cobra de capello is one of the most poisonous snakes with which
+we are acquainted. I saw a girl playing with some of them the other
+day, but their fangs had been extracted.
+
+There are a great number of beautiful birds here; and green paroquets
+can be purchased for three pence, while an avadavad costs only one
+penny. The cock avadavad should, when kept, be confined along with
+twelve hens in a cage.
+
+The large carrion-crow is as common here as the sparrow is in
+England, and is so tame that they fly close to the houses, and even
+look in at the windows. Nobody is allowed to shoot or hurt them,
+because they make themselves useful in carrying away all the dirt
+from the town. Large vultures are almost as numerous.
+
+I must not forget to mention the mosquito, which is a gnat exactly
+like those you see in England. Great numbers fly about all the night,
+and some people suffer much from their bite, but they never touch me.
+
+The flowers here are beautiful, and some smell exceedingly sweet.
+There are two tall trees, as large as elms, covered with red and
+yellow flowers about the size of a plate. In the hedges, too, we see
+very splendid cactuses. I shall be able, however, to tell you more
+about these things when I have been here longer.
+
+The fruits are exquisite, but it is dangerous to eat them in any
+quantity. For a pine-apple nearly as big as your head we pay only two
+anas--that is, three pence; but they are not exactly like those you
+buy in England. Here they are quite sweet, and soft and juicy as a
+peach. The mango is a yellow fruit about the size of a large orange,
+the inside of which is full of a very rich sort of custard. The
+plantain resembles a dahlia-root, and has very much the same taste
+as cheese. The guava is in appearance like an apple, but possesses
+the flavour of a strawberry. There are several other kinds of fruit,
+but I have not time to describe them now. I am very fond of the
+pine-apple and the orange, but do not care for any of the others.
+
+ [Sidenote: HEAT.]
+
+Mother-of-pearl may be bought very cheap here. It is found in a
+particular kind of oyster-shell, of which I can get three or four
+for a halfpenny. Though the heat here is excessive, I do not suffer
+from it: the thermometer in the large room where I am sitting is now
+93-1/2°. The heat causes a kind of rash called the prickle-heat,
+which is very disagreeable. The sensation to which it gives rise
+is much the same as would be caused by running needles into the
+body. In every room, hanging from the ceiling, is a large fan,
+called a punkah, about four times the size of the door, and a boy is
+continually employed in swinging it backward and forward, and the
+current of air thus created cools the whole room. The windows are
+without glass. Venetian blinds serve instead, and sometimes mats,
+which are kept constantly wetted. The water soon turns into steam,
+and, evaporating very fast, carries off with it the latent heat.
+
+When my wife goes to sleep, the little black boy, with no covering
+but a pair of drawers and a cap, stands near and fans her, while
+every now and then he sprinkles her face with water as she reclines
+on the sofa.
+
+ [Sidenote: FAKIRS.]
+
+The people here are nearly all black, and wear very little clothing.
+The population is extensive. At dinner we have generally eight or ten
+men to wait upon us, but they are slow in their movements, and very
+lazy. The Arabian Nights mentions the fakirs. I have seen some here
+that have let their feet grow in one position until they cannot move
+them.
+
+ [Sidenote: CURIOUS DISEASE.]
+
+Some of the inhabitants of Madras are afflicted with a curious kind
+of disease, in which one leg swells to the size of a man's body,
+while the other is no thicker than the limb of an infant.
+
+When you meet in the street with a native who is at all acquainted
+with you, or who wishes to express his thanks for anything, instead
+of merely saying "Thank you," or "How do you do?" he presses his
+hands upon his eyes, and says "Salaam, sahib." Some English persons,
+on going out for a walk, may be seen to carry a whip, with which,
+if the natives are at all troublesome, they lash them; but this
+is a cruel practice. Ladies are prevented by the heat from walking
+abroad here, and gentlemen seldom do so, but go about in what are
+called palanquins, which I will describe hereafter. When we ride out,
+however swiftly we go, a man called a coolie runs by the side of the
+carriage. We are obliged to get up here at about half-past five in
+the morning, and then we go out for a drive, or in the palanquin; at
+half-past seven the sun is too powerful even for that exercise: we
+then return home, take a cold bath, and breakfast. At half-past six
+in the evening we are enabled to go out again a little. In the middle
+of the day we take a nap.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[1] It is doubted whether the injury does not rather arise from the
+damp night-air than from the effect of the moon-beams.
+
+
+
+
+July 1st.
+
+
+A few days ago I saw a native wedding. At about nine in the evening I
+was disturbed by a noise of drums and squeaking trumpets. Looking out
+of the window, I saw a large party with torches conducting the bride
+to her husband's home. She was entirely covered by a white veil, and
+walked in the midst of her relations.
+
+I went to pay a visit to the Newab, a native prince of these parts,
+but did not succeed in obtaining an interview. He is about fifteen
+years of age, and generally goes out in a carriage drawn by seven
+horses. His uncles ride by his side on elephants, while his cousins
+run with the carriage.
+
+The natives are a fine athletic race of men, with every appearance of
+possessing talent and intellect. The tricks of the jugglers are very
+entertaining: they will swallow swords, throw up three or four knives
+or cannon-balls, and catch them on their necks, and pull balls of
+cotton out of their throats, and make snakes dance.
+
+
+
+
+Bishop's Palace, Calcutta, July 15.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: WATERSPOUT.]
+
+Here we are arrived safely at this place, after a very disagreeable
+voyage, the worst part of which was the travelling up the river
+Hoogly. We were becalmed for some time, and merely drifted up a few
+miles a-day with the tide. However, I was much interested one day
+by watching a cloud, which, after moving and whirling about for a
+little time, began to send down a little thin point towards the
+river. Presently the column increased in size, while underneath the
+waves seemed to rise to meet it; and when they had done so a great
+quantity of the water was sucked up by the cloud, which grew larger
+in consequence, and then steered away towards the land: this was a
+waterspout.
+
+The place in which we live--that is, our hotel--is a large house,
+three stories high, surrounding a square, and on each side are
+forty-two windows in a row.
+
+Immediately after landing I went to pay my respects to the
+archdeacon, and to inform him of my arrival. Not finding him at
+home, I proceeded to the bishop, who treated me very hospitably, and
+invited us to his house.
+
+ [Sidenote: BISHOP'S PALACE.]
+
+On returning home I found that during my absence the archdeacon's
+wife and daughter had been calling on my wife, for the purpose of
+inviting us to their house; but having already accepted the offer of
+the bishop, we, of course, were compelled to decline this. In the
+bishop's palace we have two very large apartments assigned to us,
+besides a bath-room, and a verandah, about three hundred yards long,
+to walk in. I was scarcely located here, however, before I received
+an order to proceed to Gowhattie, in Assam, and to assume the
+clerical superintendence of the whole province. At Gowhattie there is
+one European lady, and there are five European gentlemen, who are the
+only ones within two hundred and seventy miles. My parish, if such
+it can be called, is about twice the size of England, and I shall be
+continually travelling about.
+
+But I must now tell you something about this place. The principal
+animals here are buffaloes, elephants, and tigers, of whose numbers
+you may form an idea by the fact of the Government having offered a
+reward for every tiger's head. Last year, in the province of Assam,
+the number of heads brought in was two thousand six hundred, and yet
+these animals seem to be as numerous as ever.
+
+We shall have to travel in a little boat, called a budjeon, with two
+cabins, up to Gowhattie. The boatmen are black, and we shall be the
+only passengers on board. We must be provided besides with two other
+boats, the one with the fowls and goats in it for cooking, and the
+other with the luggage. We shall be rather more than two months on
+the voyage, and must take with us enough provisions for a year. When
+we reach Gowhattie the boat must serve us for a home until we have
+built one with mats and reeds.
+
+There are some large birds here called adjutants, about five feet
+high, with long white legs, black bodies, bare necks, and a beak like
+pelicans. They are generally seen perched on the tops of houses. The
+fire-flies are very pretty: on a fine night a number of them are seen
+flitting about the lanes and gardens glittering like stars.
+
+The bull-frogs make a noise at night almost as loud as the bark of a
+dog. A pretty brown and white bird is to be found here, singing much
+like a blackbird; it is called a miner.
+
+Calcutta is well termed the city of palaces, since every house is a
+noble mansion. Most of the rooms are at least fifteen feet high and
+twenty-six feet square, and along every story there is a verandah,
+supported by stone columns. The language of the people here seems to
+have retained many traces of the Portuguese, who were here before the
+English. For instance, the bishop is called de Lord Padre, and I go
+by the name of Padre Sahib.
+
+ [Sidenote: NATIVE SERVANTS.]
+
+We have no bells by which to summon the servants, who lie on the mat
+outside the room door; when we require them we call out, without
+rising from the sofa, "Qui hi?" (who is there?) then the sirdar,
+or valet, runs in. We give him our orders, which he reports to the
+others. Although I am staying at the bishop's, and dine at his
+table, and use his carriage, I am obliged to have five servants. I
+have one kitmajar, or waiter, who does nothing but attend at table.
+The bishop's kitmajars will wait only upon their own master. Then
+I have one ayah, or lady's-maid, for my wife; a sirdar, or bearer;
+and a matee-sirdar, or assistant-bearer. These men make the beds
+and assist me to dress. I have also a punkah-bearer--that is, a man
+who sits outside the room, and is constantly employed in pulling
+a string fastened to a punkah, or enormous fan, without which no
+Englishman could live in India. Besides these I pay a pooney-bearer,
+or water-carrier, and a matranes. When I go up the country I shall
+be obliged to have a consummar, or head servant; a dobee, or
+washerwoman; a dugay, or tailor; a syce, or grass-cutter; and one or
+two others. We cannot do with less, because, if I were to ask the
+kitmajar to fetch my coat, he would twist his mustachios, and say,
+"Me no sirdar;" or if I were to ask my sirdar to wait at table, he
+would say, "Kitmajar no do dat."
+
+
+
+
+August 6, 1842.
+
+ [Sidenote: CUTTACK.]
+
+The bishop has changed my appointment from Assam to Cuttack. The
+different towns I shall have under my jurisdiction are Midnapore,
+Balasore, and Poonee. Midnapore is situated eighty miles south of
+Calcutta, and Cuttack two hundred and forty. Poonee stands on the
+coast a little to the south of the great plain of Juggernat'h, which
+forms a part of my district.
+
+We expect to leave Calcutta next week, and shall go down the river
+as far as Ooloberriab. Here we shall quit the boat for palanquins,
+and shall travel by night, it being too sultry to proceed by day. At
+Midnapore we shall stay for a few days at the judge's house, whilst
+I look about for one. Here we shall probably remain about three
+months, and shall then proceed to Poonee. Whichever of the two towns
+I discover to be the pleasantest and most agreeable I shall make my
+permanent abiding-place, only travelling occasionally to each of the
+others. Every one tells me my station is one of the healthiest in
+Bengal. Midnapore, standing on a high hill, will be best for the wet
+weather; Poonee, on the sea, for the hot months; and Cuttack, with a
+nice sea-breeze, for the winter.
+
+The principal dangers we have to apprehend on our journey to
+Midnapore are the dacoits, or mountain robbers, the tigers, and the
+sudden swelling of the rivers from the rains.
+
+Now, I must tell you a little of our mode of life here. At half-past
+five in the morning we have a cup of coffee, and then go out for a
+ramble. It is the only hour in the day in which it is possible to
+walk. If we were to go out for half an hour in the middle of the day
+it would most likely cause our death. At seven we take a cold bath,
+and pour great jars of water over our heads. I used to enjoy bathing
+in England, but here it becomes the greatest possible luxury. After
+this is over we read or write until nine, and then breakfast. At two
+we have tiffin, which is lunch, with plenty of meat. At five in the
+afternoon we have an hour's drive, at half-past seven we dine, at
+nine tea, and to bed at ten. These are the regular Indian hours, but
+as soon as I have a house of my own I mean to dine at three.
+
+When on any occasion I ask for a glass of cold water it is brought
+to me with a lump of ice in it. This is excessively refreshing in a
+country like this, where the thermometer is at 90°. It is brought in
+shiploads from America. At new and full moon there is what is called
+a "bore" in the river Hoogly, that is, the tide, instead of coming up
+gradually, swells up in one large wave. When I saw it the other day
+it rose thirty feet in height.
+
+
+
+
+Midnapore, September 12, 1842.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: JOURNEY TO MIDNAPORE.]
+
+On the 14th of August I sent two boats full of furniture to
+Midnapore, and on the 16th we started ourselves in a boat with two
+large cabins and one small. I had nine Indians to manage it. Another
+smaller boat contained our palanquins, two servants, and a little
+sort of kitchen.
+
+In going down the Hoogly river we met with an accident, and were
+nearly overturned; the wind drove us with great force against a large
+ship in a severe squall. We however reached Ooloberriab, a native
+village on Hoogly, in safety. Here we turned into a canal, up which
+we journeyed for some miles, and then anchored for the night. The
+next morning, having slept on board, we proceeded on our course, and
+reached the Khatah Ghat, or landing-place (pronounced gaut), at about
+twelve o'clock. Here we remained until four in the afternoon, entered
+our palanquins, a kind of square boxes, which are carried on men's
+shoulders, handsomely painted outside, with soft cushions inside,
+and lamps like a carriage. In this sort of thing we move about
+everywhere, and in crossing a river do not wet our feet. To each
+palanquin there are eight bearers, four of whom are employed at a
+time; one mussuaulchee, or torch-bearer, runs by the side, along with
+one baugh-whaller, to carry boxes made of tin, and called patarahs.
+Each man carries two slung to a stick over his shoulder.
+
+My wife travels in one palanquin, and I in another. We had taken care
+to write beforehand that a dâk, or men, might be in readiness to
+carry us on at each stage; and we therefore proceeded rapidly through
+the whole night.
+
+ [Sidenote: ARRIVAL.]
+
+Soon after leaving Khatah Ghat we found the road for two miles under
+water, which reached far above the men's knees; and at one time,
+indeed, I was afraid it would have entered the palanquin; but the
+only accident that actually happened was the breaking of one of the
+baughley-whaller's sticks, and the tin patarah, containing clothes,
+floated away, but, after some trouble, was again secured. We slept
+most comfortably in our palanquins during our journey, and arrived at
+Midnapore early in the morning. Here we stayed at the house of the
+judge until I could choose a home for myself, in which we are now
+at last settled. Everybody here is most kind and hospitable, and,
+indeed, it is necessary it should be so, for, excepting in Calcutta,
+there are no inns, and travellers would fare very badly were the
+houses of the principal people closed against them. But when you go
+on a visit you must be careful to take your own servants, sheets,
+towels, and soap. My house is called a bungalow, which I chose as
+being the most economical. A bungalow is a thatched cottage, with
+only one ground story.
+
+The floors of the rooms are not made of wood, but a sort of cement
+which looks like stone. The house stands in the midst of a large
+field called a compound, which belongs to me, and the servants'
+dwellings are scattered around.
+
+I have a flower and kitchen garden, fowl-house and place for goats,
+kitchen, stable, cowhouse, and a banyan-tree. The pathways through
+the grass are of fine gravel, and the hedges are composed almost
+entirely of aloes and cactuses, mixed with a very sweet-smelling
+flowering shrub, and here and there a bamboo, which is a most
+beautiful tree, resembling a very tall weeping-willow. The
+sensitive-plant grows wild about the compound, and bears a very pink
+flower resembling that of the red cloves.
+
+The banyan-tree is abundant here. Each branch projects stalks
+downwards, which take root in the earth, and after a few years one
+tree resembles a cluster, and covers a large space of ground. I have
+several aloes in my garden, which are just flowering. They have
+thrown up a straight stalk about twenty feet high. A large cactus is
+now in bloom. It is about ten feet high, and each stem or leaf is
+thicker round than my leg. This kind bears a very beautiful large
+white flower, which opens only at night. In my kitchen-garden are the
+mango, the plantain, Indian corn, pine-apple trees, and many others.
+
+Carpets are not used here, but the floors are covered instead
+with India matting. In each room is a punkah, which I have before
+described.
+
+We procure water for drinking from a large tank or pond; and as we
+cannot purchase meat, I have provided myself with thirty-five ducks,
+sixty fowls, four goats, and three kids, which last are almost ready
+to eat; the goats we shall keep for their milk. The judge made me a
+present of a beautiful fawn of the spotted deer, which is becoming
+very tame. I am just going to join a mutton-club. Four persons enter
+into partnership, and agree to keep a small flock of sheep; one of
+which is killed twice a week, and then each partner is provided with
+a quarter of mutton, and each in turn has the liver, heart, and head.
+A gentleman yesterday sent me four guinea-fowls, and another has
+promised me six pigeons as soon as I have a place to keep them in.
+
+ [Sidenote: INSECTS.]
+
+I have just begun to make a collection of insects, snakes, and
+butterflies and moths, of the most beautiful kind. The chameleon is
+very common, and changes its colour according to the temper it is in.
+I have one which is generally of a brilliant green; but if its anger
+be roused, it becomes covered with large black spots, and when hungry
+with white spots. These are the only changes in its colour I have as
+yet observed: but I have seen others yellow; others, again, black,
+with yellow spots. It is said that each chameleon has ten different
+variations of colour. There is to be seen here a light-brown lizard,
+called the bloodsucker, which is constantly running about the walls
+in the rooms. Whenever we take up a paper or a book, we are sure to
+find two or three cockroaches under it--not such cockroaches as you
+may see in England, but great ones three or four inches long. The
+grasshoppers come into the house in numbers, and grow to an uncommon
+size. You may hear them chirruping half a mile off. The ants, of
+which there are three sorts, are a great nuisance. Every house swarms
+with them; and unless the legs of tables, drawers, &c., are kept
+constantly standing in jars of water, they attack the dinner-cloths,
+and in fact everything they can reach: 1st, there is a very small red
+ant, whose bite causes a very hard red swelling, which continues very
+painful for some days; 2nd, a great black ant, about the size of an
+English wasp, which bites, but does not sting; 3rd, the white ant,
+rather larger than the common English ant, which come in a swarm, and
+in one night will devour a table or a shelf full of books. You may
+come down in the morning and find your table and books apparently all
+right, but no sooner do you touch them than they all crumble away to
+powder.
+
+ [Sidenote: REPTILES.]
+
+There are a great number of snakes about here, though I have not yet
+seen one. I suspect that my mungoose or ichneumon keeps them away,
+as he is an inveterate enemy to all vermin. A venomous lizard, about
+a foot long, black, with yellow stripes down the sides, often comes
+into our verandah, but as soon as it hears the mungoose it disappears
+with all possible despatch; as do also the poisonous centipedes, of
+which there are several in the house. The noise of the mungoose is
+very peculiar, generally purring like a cat, but when angry it barks
+short and snappishly, while every hair on its long tail stands on end.
+
+I have already mentioned to you that there are here the tiger, the
+lion, the monkey, the leopard, the buffalo, the elephant (tame), the
+spotted deer, the jackal, the flying fox: all these I shall describe
+as the opportunities offer; now I shall tell you something about the
+monkey.
+
+I was walking out early in the morning, and reached a very large
+pepul-tree, covered with its red berries. Presently I heard some one
+chattering over my head, and looking up beheld an enormously long ape
+as tall as myself, with a white face and great whiskers. He gazed
+at me for a moment, and then chattered again. The noise becoming
+louder and louder, I ran from under the tree, and soon saw a great
+number of these animals of different sizes come leaping down, and,
+after a stare, as much as to say "don't follow us," they made a few
+tremendous leaps, and escaped into the jungle.
+
+The Indian buffalo has no hump on its back. It is like an immense
+black cow, but exceedingly fierce. As yet I have seen only tame
+ones. A gentleman who lives here was walking out in the jungle the
+other evening, with the intention of shooting some birds, when he
+saw before him a large bull buffalo. When alone these creatures are
+much more fierce than when with the herd. He did not, therefore,
+much relish his close acquaintance; and, turning round, strove to
+creep quietly away. Hearing a loud roar behind him, he looked back,
+and beheld the buffalo in full chase after him, tossing his head
+most furiously. The gentleman scarcely knew what to do, as there
+was no tree near into which he might climb; but he was surrounded
+by low bushes. Turning suddenly round, therefore, he stood still,
+and, looking steadfastly at the buffalo, loaded his gun. On came the
+animal, nearer and nearer, looking fiercer and fiercer. At last, when
+about twenty yards off, he stopped one minute as if in hesitation,
+and then, with a loud roar, turned his head, and, tearing up the
+ground with his hoofs, was on the point of rushing onward, when the
+gentleman raised his gun as a last resource, and fired. The ball
+entered through the eye into the brain, and the monster rolled over
+the plain.
+
+I have since seen the skull and the horns, which are of great size.
+The elephants are very large, and there are none but tame ones here.
+The major of the regiment quartered at this place has offered to lend
+us one whenever we are inclined for a ride.
+
+The jackals are a source of great annoyance at night: they come into
+the compound and howl round the house, and make a dreadful noise,
+but are not dangerous. There are swarms of wild dogs too here,
+called pariah dogs--quite harmless. They resemble a hairy greyhound
+with a fox's head. The flying-fox is a sort of bat. Its large black
+wings are nearly four feet from tip to tip, and the body is like a
+small fox. They fly about the trees at night, and pick the fruit and
+berries. The birds are very beautiful. There are many sorts of doves
+and pigeons. One sort of the last-named is quite green; as is also
+the fly-catcher, which has a long single feather in the middle of his
+tail. The mango is about the size of a pigeon, yellow, with green
+stripes. There are also the pretty little amadavad, and many others.
+
+I am making a collection of large beetles.
+
+ [Sidenote: SOIL--CLIMATE.]
+
+Midnapore is situated on a high table-land, or flat-topped hill,
+about six miles across, and is much cooler than the greater part of
+India. The soil is about a foot deep, and underneath it is a volcanic
+rock, so porous that the rain soaks into it as soon as it falls, thus
+rendering the place dry and healthy. From the middle of June to the
+middle of October there are tremendous storms of rain almost every
+day. Then it is cool and pleasant till February. After that time the
+heat increases, and the weather is quite dry until April; from which
+time until June it is intensely hot, with occasional hurricanes and
+thunderstorms, of which we have had several most magnificent ones
+lately; and from the height of the hills we seem almost to be in the
+midst of them.
+
+ [Sidenote: PRODUCTIONS.]
+
+Indigo, rice, and grain are plentiful. The first is obtained by
+soaking the leaves of the plant in water until they are rotten, when
+they deposit a thick blue sediment, which is formed into cakes, and
+is used for dyeing cloths.
+
+We have some wild silkworms, from which the natives manufacture a
+coarse sort of silk. The rice grows in fields which are under water,
+and looks like barley. These fields beautifully illustrate the
+expression in the Bible about casting your seed upon the waters, and
+after many days you shall find it again.
+
+The greatest expenses here are servants and house-rent. I pay for
+my house, which is one of the cheapest in Midnapore, forty rupees
+a-month; a rupee is two shillings. I keep as few domestics as I can;
+but am obliged to have eleven men and one woman. The men are--
+
+ 1 consummar, or headman.
+ 1 kitmajar, or waiter at table.
+ 1 sirdar, who attends to lamps, furniture, &c.
+ 1 bearer, who works the punkah and helps the sirdar.
+ 1 dirgee, or tailor, who mends stockings, and makes gowns, coats,
+ shirts, &c.
+ 2 maistrees, or carpenters.
+ 2 mollees, or gardeners.
+ 1 motee, who sweeps the rooms and keeps them in order.
+ 1 beastee, or water-carrier.
+
+We neither feed nor clothe them: indeed their food consists of
+nothing but rice, except the consummar and kitmajar, who are
+Mussulmans. Their pay varies from three to ten rupees a-month. Many
+people keep forty or fifty men. The sirdar, or bearer, sleeps on a
+mat in the verandah; the others in houses in the compound. They are
+all forbidden by their religion to do the work of any other; their
+fathers and grandfathers performed the same duties, and so will their
+sons and grandsons also. They are a thievish set, and we dare not
+leave anything in their way that they can steal.
+
+There is at this moment a little grey squirrel hopping about in
+the verandah,--facing the gate of the compound are several tame
+buffaloes,--and a little beyond is an elephant lying down basking in
+the sun and lashing his trunk about upon the grass.
+
+There is an insect here called the flying-bug; it resembles in
+appearance a very large ant with wings, and, if one of them flies
+through the room, it leaves so disagreeable a smell that it can
+hardly be borne for an hour afterwards.
+
+
+
+
+September 15.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: THE "POUJAH OF TOOLS".]
+
+To-day is a rustic festival; the carpenters and all other workmen
+have a holiday, and, daubing all their tools with red paint, cover
+them with flowers, and then kneel down and worship them, and beg them
+to work well and not to break during the next year. This is called
+the "poujah of tools."
+
+
+
+
+October 9, 1842.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: STORM.]
+
+We have had several thunderstorms here. A few days ago I saw a large
+black cloud coming up against the wind. Gradually it spread until it
+covered the whole sky. The wind now died away for a few minutes, and
+then rose again and seemed to rush from all quarters of the heavens
+at once, and formed a sort of whirlwind round Midnapore; then from
+the darkest part of the cloud flashed a vivid streak of lightning,
+followed almost immediately by a terrific clap of thunder. For three
+hours the storm continued, and scarcely three minutes elapsed between
+each clap, while we saw the lightning running along the ground for
+several yards.
+
+ [Sidenote: SNAKE.]
+
+The other morning two men who lived in Midnapore caught a cobra de
+capello, or hooded snake, and they were examining it when suddenly it
+bit them both, and they died in the course of half an hour. We have
+not yet seen any snakes in our house, although most people frequently
+find them. This, as I think I told you, I attribute to our keeping
+the mungoose, of which the snakes are much afraid.
+
+The chikary, or huntsman, makes a large oval shield, which he covers
+over with leaves: in the upper part are two very small holes. When
+he perceives a bird he crouches down behind his screen, keeping a
+watch through the two little holes, and creeping on very slowly. When
+he has approached near enough, he thrusts forward a long thin stick
+like a fishing-rod, and touches the bird with one end of it, on which
+there is a little lime; the bird sticks to it, and then the man draws
+back the pole and secures the animal.
+
+In this way a great number of partridges are taken, with snipes,
+woodcocks, pigeons, &c. I had two hoopoes given me the other day. The
+Major who commands this station has four elephants for the use of
+the troops under him, to carry their tents when they are marching;
+and whenever we like it he lends us one for a ride. On the back of
+the elephant is placed a large pad, and on that is a thing like a
+great cradle, with two seats in it. A man sits on the neck with his
+feet in stirrups of rope, and a pointed piece of iron in his hand,
+which he presses behind the elephant's ears to guide him. Another
+man runs by the side and encourages the animal in Hindustanee. When
+we want to get on his back, the man on the neck presses the iron rod
+on the middle of the animal's head, and he kneels down; a ladder is
+immediately brought, and we climb up into the seat, or houdah, as it
+is called, and then the huge monster rises again. His pace is very
+slow and very jolting. He is not allowed to pass over any bridges,
+lest his weight should shake them down; he accordingly goes through
+the water instead. Neither may he go where he is likely to meet many
+horses, lest he should frighten them.
+
+My costume here would make you smile. I wear thin shoes, white
+stockings, white trowsers, a short black cassock reaching a
+little below the knees, and a hat made of pith covered with black
+merino--the crown is about four inches high, and the rim about six
+or seven inches wide. This is my out-of-door dress. Indoors, unless
+when any one calls, I wear a white jacket instead of the cassock. I
+am without any waistcoat. At a dinner-party, black silk socks, black
+trowsers, and my long black silk cassock.
+
+The only coins in use at Midnapore are the pice and the rupee;
+the pice is worth a farthing and a half, and the rupee about two
+shillings. Another kind of money passes here, viz. a little shell
+called a cowrie, of which 120 are worth a pice. At Madras and
+Calcutta there are many other sorts.
+
+The insects are a great nuisance here. If the candles were not
+protected by a glass shade they would be instantly extinguished.
+Thousands of insects of all sizes swarm, jumping and flying about the
+lamps, of all colours, green, yellow, blue; and many of them sting,
+whilst others smell most abominably.
+
+Every morning the mollie, or gardener, brings in a basket of
+vegetables for us to look at, and select what we shall require for
+the day's consumption. The cold weather here begins about the middle
+of October, generally on the 15th, and we are all looking very
+anxiously for it; but by cold I mean only such a lower degree of heat
+as will enable us to go out in the middle of the day (provided we
+carry a great parasol), which we cannot do now.
+
+ [Sidenote: DINNER COSTUME--NATIVE SERVANTS.]
+
+At a dinner-party every one brings his or her own table servant. This
+assemblage has a very pretty appearance: the ladies are all in white
+dresses and short sleeves, and the gentlemen in white jackets and
+trowsers, except the Major and myself; he wears a red jacket, and I
+a black cassock. Behind each chair stands a dark-brown man with long
+black beard and mustachios, dressed in a sort of white tunic and a
+white turban, with a coloured sash wound several times round the
+waist. As it would be the greatest mark of disrespect for a servant
+to appear in the presence of his master with covered feet, they all
+leave their shoes outside the door. After the meat is cleared away,
+before the puddings are brought in, the servants go out and smoke for
+five minutes. There is not a man, either Mussulman or Hindoo, except
+of the very lowest caste, who would eat anything that came from the
+table of a European. They would consider it a degradation, and would
+not even drink out of anything we had ever used, or touch what we
+had cooked. The Hindoos eat only once a-day, unless on their grand
+feasts. Their food then is boiled rice, with perhaps an onion and a
+little spice in it, which they eat with their hands.
+
+ [Sidenote: LANGUAGE.]
+
+The language of this country, though confessedly a compound of two
+or three Eastern tongues, appears to me to have many remains of
+what must have been the original language of man, that is to say,
+those which must have existed from the very earliest time bear a
+close propinquity to the words of other and later languages. Several
+instances which came under my notice bear out this opinion.
+
+It is curious to observe how the different castes or ranks here keep
+distinct, and it is this which renders so many servants necessary.
+The man who lays the cloth would feel degraded by dusting a chair,
+and he who dusts the chair would rather leave his place than dust the
+room. Again, two men of different castes will neither eat, drink, nor
+sleep together. Their bed is a mere mat, which explains well that
+saying of our Saviour, "Take up thy bed and walk."
+
+The other day my basin had not been emptied. I told the carah of it,
+whose business it is to attend to my apartment, and he went a hundred
+or more yards to call the matee, because it would have been beneath
+his dignity to throw the water out into the adjoining bath-room.
+The men here are a sadly idle set; they make almost slaves of their
+wives. Early in the morning we may see troops of women going out into
+the jungle, from which they return in the evening with great fagots
+of wood; these fagots are about twelve feet in length, and in the
+middle quite two in thickness, and are carried on the head. The poor
+creatures are obliged continually to stop and rest.
+
+The higher classes of the natives wear a kind of loose white gown,
+down to the knees, and very loose trowsers, also white embroidered
+slippers, no stockings, and a white turban. The lower classes wear
+nothing but a long white cloth tied round their hips.
+
+Every one here, both native and European, takes a cold bath at
+least once a-day. When a native dies his body is burnt, and to
+make the funeral pile every native keeps four or five large trees
+growing in his garden. As soon as he dies, one, or two, or three
+trees, according to the man's rank, are cut down and surrounded
+with a great quantity of dry stubble, on which the body is placed.
+Formerly, his wife was burnt alive at the same time. This was called
+a sati. There are a great many tombs of holy men about the country,
+and on these the people throw little wooden images. There is one
+tomb here on which are placed two large dumb-bells, and the people
+imagine that every Sunday night the man who is buried there rises
+up and plays with them. There is one very disagreeable custom here,
+which exists more or less all over India; it is called dustoorie.
+Whenever anything is bought, for every rupee that is paid the seller
+is obliged to give the servant of the purchaser two pice; so that
+the more he has to buy, the better it is for the servant; and if
+a master were to say he would not allow dustoorie, no native would
+enter his service.
+
+I have just been to look at the man who is making me some white
+jackets. The women here never do any needlework. The men sit down on
+the floor, and hold the work between the great toe and the next.
+
+ [Sidenote: DESTRUCTIVENESS OF THE WHITE ANT.]
+
+I was the other day in want of a sheet of pith, on which to fasten
+some butterflies, and, going into my dressing-room, where I knew I
+had left four pieces on a shelf only the day before, I found them
+apparently in good condition; but, on taking them up, discovered them
+to be only so much dust. I then examined the other things upon the
+shelf, and found them to be in the same state. This was the work of
+the white ant, which was swarming about. I called the carah and sent
+him to the bazaar, or the place where all the little shops are, and
+told him to procure me sixteen pice worth of turpentine, and when it
+was brought I spread it over the shelf, and, soaking into the wood,
+it destroyed the ants. If let alone they would, in about two days,
+have eaten the chest of drawers, all my clothes, and everything in
+the room. I have just been engaged in catching with a green net on
+the end of the bamboo a most beautiful swallow-tailed butterfly, and
+in doing so frightened away a jackal, who was so impertinent as to
+intrude into the compound in the middle of the day.
+
+
+
+
+Midnapore, November 11, 1842.
+
+
+A friend has just made me a present of a very small kind of monkey,
+about nine inches high, of a light-brown colour. His antics are
+often very amusing. I fasten him by a chain to a thick pole in the
+compound, at the top of which is his house. He will sometimes turn
+his waterpot upside down and sit on it in the gravest possible
+manner. He will then perhaps stoop down and gather a blade of grass,
+and examine it as attentively as though he were inquiring to what
+species and genus it belonged. Perhaps by this time several large
+knowing-looking crows, something like English magpies, will have
+collected round him, holding their heads on one side and looking as
+if they were listening very attentively to his lecture on botany.
+Presently you would see the sly little monkey turn his eye to see
+how near they are, and then with one bound he will catch hold of the
+nearest crow by the neck; but the crow is the stronger of the two
+and always gets away safe. These crows are as common as sparrows
+and quite as tame, for they will hop into the verandah and pick up
+anything the parrots drop. We have two parrots; they are of a kind
+very common here; so I told a man to go out and catch me a couple, as
+I wanted to teach them to talk. He did so, and they are now getting
+very tame. I gave him a few pice for his trouble. They are of a
+kind that I do not remember ever to have seen in England. The upper
+mandible is red, the lower black. From the lower mandible extends on
+each side a broad black stripe, to where we suppose the ears to be;
+and there is another black stripe from one eye to the other. These
+stripes give the bird a very peculiar appearance. The upper circle
+resembles a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles.
+
+I had a young hyæna given to me, which I made every endeavour to
+tame, giving him milk and food, but nevertheless as soon as I
+approached he flew at me. As he has scarcely any teeth I did not fear
+him, but took him in my arms, being careful to keep a tight hold on
+his neck. He slept during the day, but showed an inclination to go
+out at night, but, not being permitted to do so, continued making the
+most extraordinary noises resembling the sobbing of a child in pain.
+The servants were all afraid of him. Having kept us awake that night,
+I resolved the next to try him outside the house, and accordingly,
+fastening him up, I gave him a box to sleep in. The next morning I
+found he was dead. The servants declared he had been killed by a pack
+of jackals, but I shrewdly suspected they themselves to have been
+guilty.
+
+The other day I caught one of those beautiful little squirrels which
+I have before described. It is grey, with a broad yellow stripe down
+each side. The body is about as big as my thumb, and the tail the
+size of my middle finger. I borrowed a common squirrel's cage, but
+the little thing was so small that it immediately struggled through
+the wires, and the mungoose, perceiving it, killed and devoured it. A
+great many of them live in the thatch of our house.
+
+ [Sidenote: MUSK-RAT--MUNGOOSE.]
+
+The musk-rat is a small sharp-snouted animal, from which musk may be
+extracted. The scent rising from it is overpowering. All the houses
+here swarm with them, but the mungoose has either killed or driven
+away all that were here, and our house therefore is quite free from
+the smell. The mungoose is very destructive. I just left the room for
+a few minutes, and while absent it commenced demolishing some eggs
+which I had brought in from the fowl-house: there were eight on the
+table; he had broken five over my papers and then dipped his paws in
+the ink and ran over the table. Whilst punishing him for this fault I
+held him by the neck, but he nevertheless managed to give me a severe
+scratch with his claws. He is a thorough beast of prey, and will eat
+nothing but animal food except sugar.
+
+ [Sidenote: COBRA DE CAPELLO.]
+
+The prawns here are most delicious, and many of them are as large
+as a good-sized lobster. I was crossing my compound in the dusk a
+few evenings ago, after feeding my fowls and ducks. I walked slowly,
+thinking of England and my children, when I happened suddenly to cast
+my eyes upon the ground. I started back on perceiving within two
+paces of me the dreaded cobra de capello--its head raised, its hood
+expanded, and manifesting every sign of anger. Two, or at most three,
+steps more, and I should have trodden upon it and received the fatal
+bite. Unfortunately I had no stick in my hand; I called the servants
+to bring bamboos, but by the time they came it had glided into its
+hole, and I went home thanking the Supreme Being who had saved me
+from the fearful danger. Since that time I have not been out without
+a large bamboo in my hand, for, although I have stopped up the hole,
+yet the cobra de capello is, no doubt, still in my compound. The bite
+of this snake is most deadly.
+
+During the last fortnight I have heard of three persons having been
+killed by it in Midnapore. Two of them were hunters, the other was
+one of the wives of the Rajah. She put her hand into a cupboard
+to procure something, when a cobra, which had concealed itself
+there, bit her. When a person is wounded by this venomous reptile he
+generally expires within an hour. The only possible cure, and that is
+an uncertain one, is to swallow every few minutes a glass of brandy
+with some eau de luce, or smelling-salts, dissolved in it, while a
+man stands near beating you with a heavy whip. Or, instead of this,
+you may be fastened to a carriage and be compelled to run as fast as
+possible. The object is to keep you awake, for the danger of the bite
+consists in the heavy lethargy it produces. The remedies applied,
+however, are sure to bring on a violent fever, which frequently
+proves fatal. Few diseases in this country last longer than an hour
+or two. Fever, cholera, and inflammation of the liver, the three
+great scourges of India, commonly prove fatal within from two to
+twelve hours, so that no one can exist here without being constantly
+reminded of the uncertainty of human life. It is curious that I, who
+dreaded so greatly the reptiles of India, should have been at once
+sent to the station where they most abound, for there is probably
+no place in Bengal where serpents and lizards are so plentiful. Our
+house is infested by numbers of centipedes, which get on the chairs
+and on the clothes in a most unpleasant manner. However, we have
+neither of us yet been bitten.
+
+I have not seen a scorpion alive. My wife and I were walking in the
+compound the other day, when we saw a very large snake looking at
+us through the hedge of aloes. It was of a light-brown, and was, I
+think, five or six feet long.
+
+The other day my servants brought me in a venomous snake which they
+said they had killed in the compound; I took it up by its tail and
+carried it into my wife's dressing-room to show it to her. I laid it
+down on the floor, and soon it began to wriggle away, and, raising
+its head, turned at us. Fortunately there was a stick at hand, and,
+taking it up, I killed the animal with one blow. So great is the
+dread of them here, that no one ever sleeps without a light, lest,
+stepping out of bed at night, he should place his foot upon some
+venomous creature; most people keep a long bamboo in every room. We
+never put on our shoes without first examining well to see that
+there is nothing alive in them. The oil which we burn in the evening
+and at night is extracted from the cocoa-nut and has a most agreeable
+smell. For this purpose cocoa-nuts are brought from Ceylon and all
+the neighbouring islands. This oil could not be used in England,
+because it congeals into a sort of fat when the thermometer is at 64°.
+
+ [Sidenote: YAMS--POTATOES.]
+
+We have a kind of root here which they call a yam, although I do not
+think it is one. It is brown outside and white within; about two feet
+long and thickest at the middle, where it is four inches in diameter.
+This they boil and then fry into lumps; it is exceedingly nice.
+Potatoes are scarce, dear, and bad, except sweet ones, which I like;
+they are very stringy, and taste like potatoes mixed with sugar.
+
+ [Sidenote: BAMBOO.]
+
+I think I have described to you the graceful appearance of the
+bamboo-tree, but it is its extreme usefulness that renders it so
+precious. It is a sort of hollow strong cane, and serves for the
+upright posts at the corners of the native houses and also for the
+door-posts. To our own bungalows or thatched houses it forms the
+rafters to support the thatch; it is used for scaffolding and for
+ladders without any shaping or preparing. One joint of it makes a
+very good bottle; a long piece of it, with one side cut off and the
+stoppage at the joints cut away, makes a waterspout or watercourse,
+or a thing for fowls to eat or drink out of. In short, it would be
+tedious to enumerate the many uses to which it is put.
+
+I had the other day an instance of the extent to which servants carry
+the system of doing each his own work and no one's else. I had been
+feeding the parrots with a little rice and had spilt a few grains
+of it upon the table. I called the barah, or furniture-cleaner: he
+said it was the parrot's food, and therefore it was the waiter's
+business to clean it up. I told him to do as he was bid, but he would
+not, and then I said that if he did not I should discharge him with
+a character for disobedience; this he preferred to doing what he
+considered was not his own work, so I sent him away at once.
+
+None of my servants can speak a word of English, and I am sometimes
+rather at a loss on this account; but I always keep a dictionary on
+the table, and I am rapidly acquiring a knowledge of the Hindustanee
+language. There are no shops that Europeans can go to, except at
+Calcutta. In the country, which is called the Mofussil, a sort of
+pedlers come round with goods. I offer them generally one-third of
+the price they name, and they in most cases take it. The other day,
+my wife was making up her accounts, and asked the kitmajar how much
+he had given for a certain article; the man said, "Three rupees."
+My wife replied that she did not think he had given so much; he
+answered, "Yes, three rupees." She said, "Now, I don't believe you
+gave more than two rupees;" to which his answer was, "Yes, I gave two
+rupees." Still she did not credit him, and said, "Now, I am sure you
+only gave one rupee;" and he replied, "Yes, one rupee." And he was
+quite satisfied: and all this time he answered as calmly as possible,
+and did not appear in the least ashamed; and yet this man is one who
+is considered a very good servant, and whom I believe to be as honest
+as any one I have.
+
+
+
+
+November 12.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: EARTHQUAKE.]
+
+Last night, a little before ten o'clock, my wife was gone to bed, and
+I was sitting up reading and writing. In this country, you may know,
+the servants at each house, instead of having a clock, strike a gong
+at every hour. It is a flat circular plate of bell-metal, which, when
+struck with a wooden mallet, gives forth a very loud ringing sound.
+Just before the gong struck ten, I heard a noise like that of a buggy
+(or gig with a large head to it to keep the sun off) approaching.[2]
+I thought to myself, "Why, there must be a party somewhere to-night;"
+at which I wondered not a little, because every one asks the Padre
+Sahib to their parties, and I had received no invitation. The next
+moment the noise seemed to increase, and become like the motion of
+a large heavy carriage. Almost immediately after, with a sound like
+rolling thunder, the whole house rocked backwards and forwards,
+while I was nearly thrown off the chair on which I was sitting.
+
+The rumbling continued, I should think, for about a minute before the
+shock of the earthquake came, and for about a quarter of a minute
+after, while the shock itself may have occupied about ten minutes.
+
+I was quite startled; and, proceeding to my wife's bed-room, advised
+her to get up and put on something warm, lest we should have to pass
+the night out of doors. I then went to the store-room, and made the
+best provision I could for a bivouac: my preparations were, however,
+needless, as the shock was not repeated.
+
+I can compare the motion to nothing so well as to the pitching of a
+small boat in a short cross-sea, or where two tides meet one another.
+My wife said her bed gave two distinct pitches up and down. While
+I was making my preparations for departure I heard a loud noise of
+crows, ducks, fowls, and all sorts of birds, cawing, cackling, and
+screaming, as if they were very much frightened. The natives all
+round started up and blew their conchs (a sort of shell, which they
+use instead of a trumpet); and this morning every one is talking
+about the earthquake.
+
+ [Sidenote: POPULATION.]
+
+Speaking of the natives reminds me of the subject of the population
+of India, which is very much exaggerated. It cannot be compared, in
+proportion to the extent of the country, to that of England. There
+are said to be 40,000 natives in Midnapore, though I much doubt the
+fact; and then on every side, farther than the eye can reach, extends
+a vast expanse of thick jungle (that is, bushes growing so close
+together as to be altogether impassable, and full of tigers, deer,
+leopards, buffaloes, elephants, &c.); and as the same is the case
+throughout the whole of India, I should think that nine-tenths of the
+country consists of thick, close jungle, or enormous swamps. Here and
+there, amidst all this, is found a small native village, composed of
+a few huts; but the population in such places is probably not above
+one in thirty square miles on the average; this is, of course, a
+mere rough guess. The jungle-men, who are nearly black, though not
+at all resembling the negro in feature, are said to be the original
+inhabitants of the country. Their religion is unknown, and I believe
+they possess no written language. The people were driven into the
+bushes by the lighter race of men, whom many suppose to have been
+some of the ancient Egyptians, probably not less than two or three
+thousand years ago. Amongst this race sprang up, even subsequently
+to this, the religion, or rather superstition, of Hindooism. Again,
+about seven or eight hundred years ago, the whole country was overrun
+and conquered by the Mohammedans. Seventy or eighty years ago we
+obtained a firm footing in a small portion of the country. Not long
+after, the Mahratta chiefs attacked the Mohammedans in various
+places; the Mohammedans called upon us for assistance; and thus we in
+time became possessors of almost the whole country.
+
+The greatest difficulty in the pronunciation of the language is the
+letter _h_, which is always aspirated, and never pronounced as it is
+in our _th_, and yet this letter often comes after a consonant.
+
+The money in the Mofussil, or country, is a source of much annoyance.
+If you want to change a ten-pound note, they give you no gold, but
+100 rupees; if you want change for a rupee, they give you 64 pice;
+and if you change a pice, they give you 24 cowries. But as there are
+no shops, and all the people bring their goods to the house, this
+does not signify much.
+
+If you were to go to Midnapore, and to ask a native where Acland
+Sahib lived (sahib means white gentleman), he would not be able
+to tell you; but if you were to ask for the Padre Sahib, he would
+immediately direct you to my house.
+
+When I came here I was going to stay with the judge: I told the
+palanquin-bearers to take me to his house, mentioning his name, and
+we were carried to almost every house in the station; until at last
+we met a European, who told the men it was the judge sahib we wanted,
+and then they soon found the place. I am called Padre Sahib; Mrs.
+Acland is Padre Sahib ke Mem, or Padre Sahib's lady; a married woman,
+mem sahib; an old maid is mem; and a young lady is bibi sahib, or
+white lady baby.
+
+ [Sidenote: EMPLOYMENT OF TIME.]
+
+The weather is now, comparatively speaking, delightful; the
+thermometer is 76° in the middle of the day, and about 66° at sunrise
+and early in the morning. I assure you we find it quite chilly, and
+are obliged to walk very fast to get warm. Our hours are now--up at
+six, feed the fowls, and walk till eight; bathe and dress till nine,
+then breakfast; write, read, and work till four, then dinner; feed
+the fowls and walk till half-past six; tea at seven. My wife works
+and I read aloud till half-past eight; backgammon or cribbage till
+half-past nine; then prayers, and to bed. Sometimes, however, I have
+to go out and see my parishioners between breakfast and dinner, and
+then I go in my palanquin. One great disagreeable is, the constant
+change of people.
+
+The regiment that was here, of which the Major and his wife were our
+chief friends, has just been ordered away, and a new one is come in
+its place. The Captain of Engineers has just offered to take us a
+trip to the mountains, fifty miles off, on elephants. I do not know
+yet whether we shall go or not. The historical name of my parish
+would be, the Ooriah district, or the Oresta. Our time is six hours
+earlier than in England.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[2] It is the most common sort of carriage in India.
+
+
+
+
+Midnapore, December 13, 1842.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: DEPARTURE FOR CUTTACK.]
+
+I am on the point of quitting this place for Cuttack. I have sold
+the greater part of my furniture, as it is expensive to move; the
+remainder is going forward on hackeries, or native carts. I want six
+of these carts; about a dozen of them are come, and there is now a
+crowd of native savages round the door, disputing as to who shall
+go; and they were making so much noise that I was compelled to go
+out and stop the cabal. I took a good thick stick in my hand, as if
+I were about to beat them. I called out "Choop!" (or silence) as
+loud as I could. I then explained that I only wanted six hackeries.
+Then began a vociferation as to whose were the best. "Choop!--will
+ye choop?" I roared again. I then called the mollee, and desired him
+to turn out all the bullocks, for they had unfastened those which
+drew the carts, and let them all loose in the rice-ground in the
+compound, which was just ready for cutting. This order I hallooed
+out loud enough for the men to hear; and told him, as soon as he had
+done that, to come to me for a crowbar to break to pieces all the
+hackeries but six. This made them submit; and although they still
+continued making a great chattering, yet they soon began harnessing
+their bullocks. With these people we are obliged to appear very
+severe. They despise us as being of no caste; and were we not to be
+firm, they would imagine we were afraid of them.
+
+We are now engaged in packing up our things, and shall start on the
+25th, reach Balasore on the 28th, and remain there ten days, and then
+three days' more travelling will bring me to my head-quarters at
+Cuttack.
+
+I have, with much trouble, endeavoured to persuade the people
+here that they ought to build a church: the Mohammedans have a
+splendid mosque, the Hindoos have a large temple, and yet we have no
+consecrated building for the worship of the true God; but, however,
+I hope this will be remedied. As I was passing the mosque the other
+day, I saw the muezzin shouting out that it was time for prayer,
+and stopping his ears with both hands, that he might not hear the
+terrible noise which he himself was making.
+
+ [Sidenote: GOATS.]
+
+About a fortnight ago the judge went out shooting: he came to a large
+hole under the root of a tree, and heard a loud growling. He is a
+courageous man, so he was not afraid; but he told an Indian, who was
+with him, to get behind the tree, and then poke a long stick into
+the hole. Presently the growling became very loud and savage, and
+then out jumped an enormous bear, one of the most savage sort--the
+large black bear. The judge was ready, and shot it when it came out.
+On examining the hole, three young bears, only a few days old, were
+found. He sent for some Indians, who carried the dead body, and also
+the cubs, home, and then, as he knew that I was fond of animals, he
+sent the three little ones to me. They are very ugly, and cannot see
+yet. One of my goats had just had a kid, so I told the cook to make
+the kid into soup, and I brought the goat to the young bears. One man
+held the goat, another covered her eyes with his hands, and a boy
+held up the cubs to suck. The goat did not like it at all at first,
+but now she is quite contented, almost as much so as if they were her
+own young ones. I have given two of them away. In England you never
+taste goat's milk: it is most delicious; far better, I think, than
+cow's milk: we use it every day. Each goat, after the kid is taken
+from her, gives about three-quarters of a pint a-day. The judge has
+promised me a bottle full of the pure bear's grease.
+
+Every one here knows that I am very fond of animals, and they are
+all very kind in sending them to me. I received the other day from a
+gentleman a present of a goat, which is quite as big as a small pony.
+If I were to get on its back my feet would not touch the ground; it
+is of a dark brown, and of the long-eared Thibet kind.
+
+
+
+
+December 14.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: BIRDS'-NESTS.]
+
+I went out to tea last evening, and a lady gave me two nests made
+of platted grass, into which the birds enter through a hole at the
+bottom. They are about a yard long, and they hang swinging from the
+branch of a tree to which they are fastened. They are built in this
+form, in order to keep out the violent rains, and to preserve the
+birds from the monkeys.
+
+ [Sidenote: COST OF DRESS.]
+
+The commonest articles of dress in Calcutta are at least three times
+as dear as they are in England. I bought a silk hat which would have
+cost five shillings at home, and paid fourteen rupees for it here;
+and some ribbon, which would have been threepence a-yard in England,
+cost a rupee and a half here. Then on the other hand many things are
+cheaper.
+
+There has been no rain for two months, nor a cloud until the last
+day or two; now the clouds will continue to increase for a week, and
+then we shall have three days of rain, after that no more till the
+middle of June, except about three tremendous thunderstorms in April
+and May. The weather is now delightful: the thermometer varies from
+60° to 80°; but I am glad of cloth clothes, and at night we have
+three blankets and a heavy counterpane. At this time of the year we
+have peas, beans, &c., and every one looks happy and cheerful, not
+healthy, for Europeans are all of a deadly white, and most of them
+exceedingly fat.
+
+
+
+
+December 16.
+
+
+I was walking in the compound yesterday, and I saw something black,
+shaped very much like a small lobster, except that it had a pointed
+tail; and as soon as I went near it it turned its tail over its head
+and tried to sting me. I managed to get him into a bottle, which I
+filled with spirits.
+
+The mungoose is very fond of serpents; he kills and eats them with
+great rapidity, and then jumps into my wife's lap to ask for some
+milk.
+
+
+
+
+Balasore, Orissa, December 30, 1842.
+
+
+The ancient house in which I live here is situated, like the rest of
+Balasore, on a large flat plain, extending north, south, and west,
+as far as I can see. The vegetation is scanty, and the trees are
+small. But turn towards the east and the eye is arrested by a most
+magnificent sight. At the distance of about seven miles rises quite
+abruptly from the plain a splendid range of volcanic hills, about
+two thousand feet in height. Judging from their appearance at this
+distance, they must be composed of reddish lava without any grass,
+but here and there a stumpy bush. I never saw anything to compare
+with them before. In England our hills are always rounded at the top;
+but here there are points and peaks and edges, as if you had been
+trying to cut a piece of paper in zigzag lines.
+
+About fifteen miles beyond these great hills tower a still loftier
+range, lifting their deep-blue summits seven thousand feet into the
+clouds, and forming a background for the nearer and better-defined
+range.
+
+On Monday we start with a picnic party and tents, &c., to explore
+these hills. We shall probably be out on our expedition for three or
+four days.
+
+ [Sidenote: HILL OF THE LARGE WHITE ANT.]
+
+After standing gazing at these magnificent hills, I walked towards
+what appeared to be the remains of some mud hut: it was about five
+feet high, and in irregular blunt points at the top. When I came
+down to it I tried to break off one of the long bits, but it was too
+strong, and was as hard as a wall. However, on the other side I found
+a smaller projection, which I broke off by kicking against it, and
+found it full of round passages perforating it in all directions, the
+smallest about the size of a quill, the largest as big as my wrist.
+This was the large white ants' hill. Immediately after I had broken
+a portion of it there came a rush of the inhabitants from all the
+passages to see what was the matter. They examined the parts broken,
+and then some of them ran back. Presently a number more came, some
+dragging forward the others until they got them quite to the edge,
+when a bigger ant took hold of each of these prisoners and bit him in
+the neck until he killed him. I suppose the prisoners were those who
+had been on guard at that spot, or else those who built that part,
+and so were punished for my fault. Soon, however, they turned and
+attacked me, for I found many of them on my clothes and experienced
+the smart of their bite.
+
+I now walked forward, and the next thing I came to was a human skull.
+In this part of the country wood is scarce, and therefore, when
+any poor person dies, instead of burning his body, they wait till
+evening, and then throw it out of doors, and by the next morning the
+jackals and vultures have picked the bones quite clean, and the ants
+then destroy all the fibres, whilst the sun bleaches the bones. I
+have picked up several of these skulls in the last few days; they
+appear very different from the skull of an European, being smaller,
+and very much narrower from ear to ear in proportion to the length
+from the eye to the back of the head; the forehead also retreats
+much more. Presently I came to two bamboo-trees; between them on
+the ground was a pair of doves, much smaller than our English ones,
+and of a bright reddish purple. They were walking about, whilst out
+of one of the bamboo-trees poked the head of a great snake, who was
+quietly watching them. I frightened away the doves, as I guessed the
+long gentleman's intentions. It is of a kind which does not hurt men,
+of a dirty-brown colour, about seven feet long.
+
+Turning towards the house again, I was struck by the very beautiful
+plumage of a bird; its wings were striped transversely with black
+and white; it was about the size of a blackbird, with yellow neck
+and tail, and a very long head. It alighted on the ground and opened
+a most beautiful round crest growing fore and aft on its head, the
+colour of which, like the body, was an orange yellow, but there was
+an edging of white and black. It was the hoopoe. The only other
+striking thing I saw was a great vulture, with its naked red head and
+its tattered-looking feathers, puffing away at the top of our house,
+having most likely stuffed with human flesh till he could hardly
+move; and when I threw a stone at him, he hopped a little way along
+the roof and grunted.
+
+
+
+
+January 2, 1843.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: NATIVE LEGEND.]
+
+Yesterday was New Year's day. I have just heard the origin of these
+hills, and will put it down while I remember it. The story is from
+one of the natives here.
+
+"Many, many years ago there lived a giant in Ceylon, and this giant
+fell in love with the daughter of another giant at Lucknow, in
+Bengal, so he asked her father to let him marry her. But he said No,
+as the other lived in a little island, and was no real gentleman at
+all. Upon this Master Ceylon determined that, as her father said No,
+he would take her without leave, and off he started, seized the young
+lady, put her on his shoulders, and carried her across to Ceylon.
+But when the papa found that his daughter was gone, he got into a
+tremendous rage, and determined to go and punish the Ceyloney. So
+off he hurried, until he came to the straits which separate the
+island from the mainland. But when he tried to cross over, he found
+that he was not quite so tall as the Ceylonese gentleman by a few
+hundred yards, and that the water was too deep for him. So he stood
+still, and he scratched his head and wiped his forehead with his
+handkerchief, and thought and pondered what he should do to get
+across and punish the wicked thief. At last an idea struck him, and
+he trotted back all up India until he reached the Himalaya mountains,
+and, snatching up two of the largest of them, one in each hand, threw
+them into the straits, and thus made them shallow enough for him to
+pass over. But as he went along some of the rocks and earth slipped
+through his fingers, for you may suppose his hands were rather full;
+and the chains of hills which extend from Balasore for nearly three
+hundred miles are the pieces which he dropped as he went along." The
+tale does not inform us whether the giant's daughter was restored to
+him.
+
+ [Sidenote: NESTS OF WHITE ANTS.]
+
+I have not been up the hills to-day, because some of the party
+were frightened at the number of bears and tigers which are said
+to be there; but I am in hopes we shall go in a few days. I have
+been looking about me a good deal lately, and have noticed one very
+curious thing. The ground for five or six miles from our house in one
+direction seems to be covered with mounds of earth and small bushes;
+on examining these closely, however, I find they are all the nests
+of white ants. The green ones are those that are deserted, and over
+which the grass has grown--the others are still inhabited. In the
+plain visible from my window there must be many hundreds of thousands
+of these hills, varying in height from three feet to ten or twelve,
+and many of them six feet in diameter; and all of these are formed
+by little insects no larger than the common English ant. One part
+of their manner of building is most extraordinary: their nests are
+always completely covered in, so that without kicking them you cannot
+see a single ant inside; there are one or two doors in different
+parts of the building, but they are seldom used.
+
+Their mode of building is as follows:--One day, perhaps, you will
+perceive a single pinnacle of an ants' nest. You go and see it one
+day, and you find it slightly raised, but curved, like a headstone.
+So it increases daily until it reaches the size I have described. It
+is like a man building a house--as if he made a little closet with a
+roof on it, and then went inside and stayed there, while the closet
+swelled and swelled until it became a perfect house. At the foot of
+these ant-hills are a number of large black ants on the watch for
+any straggling white ants, which they kill and eat. These creatures
+abound in all our houses, and run about the floors: they are about an
+inch in length, and bite, but do not sting.
+
+
+
+
+January 3.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: MODE OF TRAVELLING.]
+
+I ought to give you some account of our voyage to this place. We
+quitted Midnapore, after a hard week's packing, at nine o'clock on
+Tuesday evening, December 27th. On the Monday we went to dine and
+sleep at the house of the Captain of Engineers, because our own was
+in such a condition from packing; and after dinner on Tuesday at nine
+o'clock we entered our horrible palanquin. I flatter myself that
+most of the people at Midnapore were very sorry when we left. We had
+sixteen men to carry us, two mussalchees, or men who carry mussals
+(torches made of long strips of cotton bound tightly together and
+dipped in oil), and two banghy-bearers, to carry each two tin boxes
+with our clothes in them.
+
+We soon got clear of the station of Midnapore, and then the scene
+became most wild and romantic--a narrow road, bounded on each side
+by an interminable jungle, or plain covered with low bushes so
+thickly matted together as to afford only passage to the deadly
+cobra, the snarling jackal, and the ravenous tiger. On the road
+our own palanquins, one a hundred yards in front of the other,
+carried by black men with merely a cloth round their loins, the red
+glaring torches showing the others who ran swiftly by their side,
+the banghy-bearers trying to keep up with us, and all keeping up
+a loud monotonous sing-song tune, which was varied occasionally
+by the shrill cry of the jackal, the grinning snarl of the hyæna,
+or in the distance the deeper roar of the tiger in search of his
+prey--and yet in the midst of all this we both slept well, awakened
+only occasionally by the plashing of the men through the fords of the
+river or the stopping at a village to change bearers.
+
+ [Sidenote: JELASORE.]
+
+In the latter case we were not detained an instant, the fresh
+relays being in attendance with as much patience and regularity
+as if they were horses waiting for a coach. Thus we travelled on
+without interruption until we reached Danton, called Dantoon. This
+was about nine o'clock in the morning. At this place there is a
+dâk-bungalow--that is, a bungalow, or thatched house, built by
+Government for the accommodation of travellers. In Turkey it would
+be called a caravanserai. Here there is a man with fire and water,
+but the traveller brings his own provisions, wine, tea, bread, &c.,
+in his palanquin, though he can generally get eggs. We stayed here
+about two hours, and had some tea, eggs, and biscuits, and no one who
+has not experienced it can have any idea of the comfort of a short
+rest after a night of dâk travelling. Although you lie down in the
+palanquin, yet every limb gets cramped, and the incessant jolting is
+most painful to the bones, even of one so fat as I am, and I have
+increased sadly in bulk since I came to India. Off we started again
+a little before eleven, and at about one we reached the house of an
+Indigo-planter at Jelasore. I never saw him before, but he received
+us most hospitably. His wife was rejoiced to see us--she had not seen
+a European lady for seventeen months, for their nearest neighbours
+live at a distance of forty miles, or about twelve hours' journey.
+Here we spent a most agreeable day, delighted with everything. In the
+evening I took a walk with our kind host to see an old fort.
+
+It must have been once very strong, and was probably built by the
+Mahrattas as a depôt for plunder when they overran this part of the
+country. In the inner court is a three-domed building, resembling,
+except in ornament, a mosque. The walls are several feet thick,
+built of hard stone strongly clamped together with iron. High up in
+the interior of the centre dome are four niches, which I hope to
+explore on some future occasion. The inner enclosure is surrounded
+by a strong stone wall and a deep moat now dry. Beyond this is a
+level space of a few yards in width, and then again, in another part
+of the wall, there are signs of a narrow sallyport, and opposite to
+this, between the trenches, as if it might have been reached by a
+drawbridge, is a very high mound of earth. Over the sallyport there
+has evidently been a strong tower, and above the central entrance
+into the interior building is a stone with an inscription. It
+appears very perfect, but no one can read it; it is neither Ooriah,
+Hindustanee, Sanscrit, nor Persian. I have called this a Mahratta
+fort, because that is the general opinion amongst Europeans. I
+myself doubt it, and from its age and appearance think it much more
+likely that it was erected by the Moguls when they first invaded the
+country; how I wished, as I stood there, that I could have seen it
+as it was in former ages, with its garrison, and its horsemen, and
+its despotic governor. The next time I go I shall provide myself with
+some paper covered with charcoal, and try to take an impression of
+the inscription. We were in some fear, during our examination, lest
+we should be interrupted by the natives, as they have very recently
+got the idea that it was once inhabited by one of their gods, and
+therefore consider it a sacred place. I fancied, as well as the
+darkness would allow me to see, that far back in one of the niches I
+could dimly perceive a coloured statue of a female. Before we went
+to see this ruin my kind host took me into his garden to show me the
+India-rubber tree. We scraped the bark with a piece of rough glass,
+and a white sticky juice oozed out; this we took between our fingers
+and squeezed until it became a sort of brown gluey substance. In
+this state it is used by the native hunters as birdlime. After being
+exposed to the air for some time it gradually hardens and becomes
+what we call India-rubber. A large part of this garden was planted
+with arrow-root.
+
+ [Sidenote: ATTACK BY A TIGER.]
+
+At half-past eight we again entered the palanquin, and started for
+Balasore, where we arrived at half-past seven the next morning,
+and were set down at the Circuit-house--a large house belonging to
+Government, and kept for the convenience of officers, including the
+chaplain, who have to travel the district every year. I can conceive
+nothing more wild than the dâk travelling; but I have described
+it all, except that in each palanquin we carry a brace of loaded
+pistols. I will relate an instance, and a very remarkable one, of
+the advantage of carrying loaded pistols in this country. Major M.,
+now the second in command at Midnapore, was one day out with some
+friends, sitting quietly under the shade of a bank, when suddenly a
+tiger sprang out of a jungle, seized the Major by the leg, threw him
+over his shoulders, and trotted off with him. The Major's companions
+raised a loud shout; but the beast was hungry, and did not choose
+to be frightened from his meal. The Major, however, fortunately had
+a brace of loaded pistols in his belt; he pulled out one, and fired
+it at the head of the tiger as it carried him off. It flashed in the
+pan; and almost in despair he seized the other, and shot the tiger
+dead on the spot. The only injury the Major received was a broken and
+lacerated leg, which has rendered him in some measure a cripple ever
+since. This story I know to be true, both from the Major himself and
+from those who were with him.
+
+ [Sidenote: A HUNGRY BEAR.]
+
+A small party went out for a day's pleasure a little while ago from
+Midnapore. They went to the Ghape, a most beautiful spot at about
+five miles' distance. After rambling about they went into an old
+house which is there, with an excellent appetite for dinner. The
+"cook-room" was about a hundred yards from the house. They waited
+and waited, and no dinner came; so at last one of the gentlemen
+went to see the cause of the delay, when lo! as if watching for the
+dinner, there was an enormous black bear sitting half-way between
+the house and the cook-room. They shouted, and tried to drive him
+away; but no, master Bruin only growled; he did not see why he should
+not have something to eat. None of the party had guns; and they say
+that they were kept waiting five hours without their dinner before
+the beast's patience was exhausted and he stalked off. We were, as
+I before said, set down at the "Circuit-house." This I expected to
+have found tolerably furnished; but, alas! when we went in, we found
+nothing but one mat, three tables, and two chairs. We then had the
+palanquins taken into a bed-room, and determined to make ourselves as
+comfortable as we could. I then went out to make calls--for in India
+the new comers call upon the old residents, reversing the English
+custom. This did not take me long, as the whole station consists of
+the magistrate and his wife, the excise-officer and his daughter, the
+postmaster, doctor, and deputy-magistrate.
+
+At night we slept as well as we could in the palanquins, but were
+kept awake the greater part of the time by the mosquitoes, and the
+next morning our hands and faces were most beautifully spotted over
+with their bites. On this the second day one or two people called;
+and when the excise-officer and his daughter came in, the deficiency
+in furniture was at once made manifest. There were Mr. and Miss B.,
+Mrs. Acland, and I, with only two chairs amongst us, and these,
+like all the chairs in India, were arm-chairs, so that we could not
+even manage by sitting two on one chair; so Miss B. and my wife had
+the two chairs, and Mr. B. and I sat upon the table--rather a high
+one it was--so that our feet dangled about half-way between our
+seat and the floor. However, there was one great advantage in this
+evidence of poverty, for Mr. B., as soon as he got home, sent us a
+large bedstead, some chairs, and other things necessary to make us
+comfortable.
+
+ [Sidenote: PALANQUIN-BEARERS' SONGS.]
+
+I ought to mention the chant of the palanquin-bearers; though they
+keep to the same sing-song tune, yet they generally invent the words
+as they go along. I will give a sample, as well as I could make it
+out, of what my bearers sang the other night; I have tried to render
+their words as nearly as I could into English, so as to preserve the
+metre. The poetry must be improved. A palkee means a palanquin: it is
+the Hindustanee word, though one also generally used in conversation.
+Each line is sung in a different voice; in the following, for
+instance, the first line would be sung in the usual voice, the second
+very high, the third in a sort of gruff tone:--
+
+ "Oh, what a heavy bag!
+ No; it's an elephant:
+ He is an awful weight.
+ Let's throw his palkee down--
+ Let's set him in the mud--
+ Let's leave him to his fate.
+ No, for he'll be angry then;
+ Ay, and he will beat us then
+ With a thick stick.
+ Then let's make haste and get along,
+ Jump along quick."
+
+And then, suiting the action to the word, off they set in a nasty
+jog-trot which rattled every bone in my body, keeping chorus all the
+time of "jump along quick, jump along quick," until they were obliged
+to stop for laughing. The second sample is from the men who carried
+Mrs. Acland, and is in quite a different metre. I must tell you that
+"cubbadar" means "take care," and "baba" (pronounced "barba") means
+"young lady:"--
+
+1.
+
+ "She's not heavy,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Little baba,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Carry her swiftly,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Pretty baba,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Cubbadar!
+ Cubbadar!
+
+2.
+
+ "Trim the torches,
+ Cubbadar!
+ For the road's rough,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Here the bridge is,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Pass it swiftly,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Cubbadar!
+ Cubbadar!
+
+3.
+
+ "Carry her gently,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Little baba,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Sing so cheerily,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Pretty baba,
+ Cubbadar!
+ Cubbadar!
+ Cubbadar!"
+
+At this place very little wood is to be found--not enough for the
+people to use for their fires during what is called the cold weather.
+The women accordingly go out, and instead of gathering wood they pick
+up cowdung. This they knead into flat round cakes about the size of
+pancakes, dry them in the sun, and they burn almost as well as the
+turf or peat which is used in England, though it is a great nuisance,
+for the thick smoke it emits has a very unpleasant smell.
+
+The other day we saw a most beautiful sight on the nearer hills.
+Some of the jungle (or wild) men had set fire to the grass and
+bushes on the side. The fire spread, shooting rapidly from one part
+to another, and as it was late in the evening it produced a most
+magnificent scene. The object in doing this was to get rid of the
+snakes, bears, and tigers, in order that the people might go and cut
+down the few large trees that grew on the hill.
+
+Last night, as my wife and I were having a game of casino, we heard
+a low growl in the compound, and directly afterwards a screaming
+amongst the fowls, and a hallooing of the servants (we carry fowls
+wherever we go, or we should be almost starved); the only words I
+could distinguish were "Bargh! bargh!" A tiger! a tiger! I jumped up;
+but on examination it proved to be a false alarm. It was only a large
+wild animal, something resembling our fox, only with shorter legs
+and longer body, which had attacked the fowls; and I had not so much
+presence of mind as the Major I told you of, for when I ran out into
+the compound to see what was the matter I quite forgot to take my
+pistols, so the thief got safely off; but I have now secured my fowls
+more effectually.
+
+Just before we left Midnapore, a large flock of birds, flying in
+regular order, amounting, I should think, to several thousands,
+passed over the place. They made a great noise, and I thought they
+were wild geese; but I hear they were a bird called the cyris, which
+stands about five feet high, and is not a water-bird.
+
+ [Sidenote: INDIAN SCAVENGERS.]
+
+I was much amused this afternoon whilst I was sitting in the verandah
+with watching the crows. I think I have described them to you. They
+are very like the carrion-crow in England, but rather smaller. There
+is a law which imposes a heavy fine upon any one who kills them; this
+is very right, for they carry away a quantity of refuse and filth
+which would otherwise putrefy and cause disease; but the consequence
+is, that they are more numerous and more impudent than the sparrows
+in England. I threw out the bones of a fowl we had had for dinner;
+presently about fifty crows came down within a few feet of me, and
+began to peck away; every now and then a bird, which people here call
+a kite, would swoop down, and send all the crows cawing away. As soon
+as it rose, down came the crows again; presently one of them flew
+away with a large bone in his beak; the kite saw it, and was off in
+pursuit. Backwards and forwards, up and down the poor crow dodged,
+but its pursuer followed it, and had nearly reached it, when the
+pursued thought it best to drop the bone. The sharp eye of the kite
+perceived this, and, although he was some distance above at the time,
+yet he made a dart down and caught the bone in his mouth before it
+had reached the ground. I have lately seen some kites like the others
+in all respects, except that the body and head are white, the wings
+being still brown; these are rather larger than the others.
+
+Every sort of filth here is thrown out into the fields, and in a very
+few hours the jackals and crows clear it away, assisted by the pariah
+dogs. These are the only scavengers in the country.
+
+The rain began on the 24th of December, and we had occasional showers
+for two days; but every one is disappointed by the season. Instead of
+having nice cool weather in January, the hot weather has completely
+set in, although it does not in general begin before the middle of
+February. The thermometer in the shade is at this moment above 80°,
+although this is considered a cool place.
+
+For my dinner yesterday I had some peacock-cutlets, which the surgeon
+of the station had sent me.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, February 2, 1843.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: JOURNEY TO CUTTACK.]
+
+I must return now, and give you some account of how we started for
+this place from Balasore. On Sunday the 8th of January we had service
+in the morning; and at four in the afternoon we entered our palkees
+to proceed to Cuttack, a distance of 103 miles.
+
+Throughout the journey not a single European is to be met with, but
+the traveller is entirely in the power of the natives, excepting such
+assistance as he can derive from his pistols and a thick stick. The
+danger however is not great. The Ooriahs, as well as the Bengalese,
+are a small and cowardly race; so much so, indeed, that the East
+India Company will not allow them to be enlisted as soldiers. A
+Bengalee of five feet six is quite a tall man, and in shape he is as
+delicate and effeminate as a European lady.
+
+We jogged on most merrily until about half-past five the next
+morning, when I was awakened by hearing "Sahib, Sahib;" to which I
+sleepily answered by inquiring what my servant wanted. He told me
+we were arrived at Barripore, about fifty miles from Balasore, and
+they wanted to know whether I meant to go to the dâk-bungalow. I
+said Yes: for we had determined to remain at Barripore all day, as
+it is not safe to travel in the sun even in January. To the bungalow
+we accordingly went; where we eat, drank, and read books which we
+had brought with us, and amused ourselves as well as we could, until
+four in the afternoon, when off we started again. I only remember one
+adventure which happened there. My wife wanted to wash her hands,
+and took up a "gomlah" to pour out some water; suddenly she cried
+out that she was stung. I ran to see what it was, and, examining the
+gomlah, found she had been bitten by a hornet. In comparison with
+other insects the sting of this creature is an object of very little
+dread. Her hand, however, swelled a little, and for three or four
+hours she suffered a good deal of pain all up her arm, but still it
+was fortunately only a hornet. At four o'clock in the afternoon we
+again started, and arrived at our own house in Cuttack at about eight
+the next morning.
+
+It is customary at the end of each stage to make the palkees a
+present of four annas (or sixpence) for each palkee. During one
+of the stages between Barripore and Cuttack the men did not go so
+quickly as I thought they should have done; so when we changed men I
+only gave them four annas for the two palkees, telling them why I did
+so. The consequence was, that during the next stage the men not only
+went much faster, but invented a new song, the whole burthen of which
+was, "He has only given them four annas because they went so slowly!
+Let us make haste and go along quickly, and then we shall get eight
+annas and have a good supper."
+
+ [Sidenote: FRUIT-TREES.]
+
+My house here belongs to Government, and I am in great hope they will
+allow me to occupy it free of rent; it is the best in the cantonment,
+the compound contains about twenty acres, and there are in it several
+beautiful clumps of trees. In front of the house is a fine group of
+cedars; in one part is a hill, on the top of which are several trees:
+I do not yet know their names, but their foliage is of a bright
+green, more bright than any ever seen in England. We have an orchard
+containing mangoes, custard-apples, waunpearls, mulberries, guavas,
+&c. &c., with one chur-tree--that is, the true India-rubber tree,
+and, I believe, the only one in this part of India; that at Jelasore
+is a very inferior sort.
+
+ [Sidenote: ALLIGATORS.]
+
+We have a grand house in the compound, and have, besides, a
+flower-garden with orange and lemon trees, &c. A river three miles
+broad flows near, and a ghaut, or landing-place, for pilgrims
+proceeding to Juggernat'h, a Hindu holy temple. We can see in the
+distance a range of hills, rising abruptly from the other side of the
+river, which are a continuation of those at Balasore. On the sands
+are storks, wild-geese, and all sorts of aquatic birds; even all the
+tanks here abound with alligators. The other day one of the officers
+was returning home from mess; it was dark, and in his compound he
+fell over something which proved to be a large alligator, making
+its way from the river to a tank, probably with a view of there
+depositing her eggs. About three weeks ago a poor woman went to fetch
+water from one of these places, on the surface of which were weeds;
+she was engaged in clearing a space with her hands, when one of these
+animals, with its jaws open, caught her arm and stripped off all the
+flesh below the elbow. She was compelled to have her arm amputated.
+
+ [Sidenote: HUMAN REMAINS.]
+
+I saw to-day a large hyæna gliding across the compound. I suppose he
+smelt some dead body on the beach. The Juggernat'h pilgrims come from
+very great distances, and many die on the road. In my compound alone,
+if I were to collect the skulls, bones, &c., I think I could make up
+eight or ten human skeletons. The other evening one of my servants
+came to me, and said, "If you please, sir, there is a dead pilgrim
+in the compound, and the matee wants to know if he shall throw it
+away;"--that is, throw it down on the bank for the jackals, &c. I
+would not let him do this, but sent notice to the commanding officer,
+who sent for the body, and, I suppose, threw it away. About two hours
+after this my wife was gone to bed, and I was sitting reading, when
+I felt something on my foot; I examined, and in my stocking found a
+large centipede. I contrived to kill him without being stung.
+
+The Government allow me a guard of soldiers; and a sentry, with
+musket and bayonet, parades up and down the front verandah; they also
+allow three servants for the use of the church. The soldiers present
+arms to me and salute; and when any one comes at night, they call
+out, "Hookum dar?" to which the answer is "Exprin:" these phrases
+are corruptions of the English. The church is very nicely fitted
+up; there is a door leading into it from my study, which serves on
+Sundays as a vestry. The greatest inconvenience here--as in all the
+churches in India--consists in the punkahs. Over the pulpit, altar,
+and reading-desk are three small punkahs, and over the body of the
+building three very large ones, extending over the whole breadth.
+These are kept constantly in motion, and they sadly intercept the
+voice of whoever is preaching. The house, being a bungalow, has, of
+course, only the ground-floor; the roof is a thick thatch, extending
+over the verandahs, which in England would be called porticoes,
+and these are supported on thick white columns. The ceilings in a
+bungalow are nothing but large sheets of canvass whitewashed. As in
+India people are glad to keep all the doors within the house open,
+there is placed between the different rooms a framework covered with
+crimson or green silk, which the natives call a half-door. The beds
+are nine or ten feet wide, with short posts, on which you may hang
+mosquito-curtains, which are a sort of large sacks made of gauze,
+without any opening. They are supported on the posts and tucked in
+closely all round, so as to prevent the mosquitoes from stinging the
+people in bed; the only covering, generally, is a sheet, and the
+gentleman's sleeping-dress is a flannel jacket and a pair of calico
+drawers with feet to them, to keep off the mosquitoes if they should
+by chance get inside the curtains. Some people also throw a gauze
+over the face for the same purpose. There are no feather-beds, but
+the mattresses are generally stuffed with the fibres from the outside
+rind of the cocoa-nut, called "coir.". The usual plan is to leave
+the glass doors (French windows you would call them) all open, but
+to shut the Venetian blinds, and to have a punkah over your head
+going all night. At about six in the morning all the glass doors are
+closed, and kept shut all day to exclude the hot air. If, however,
+there should be any wind, one of them is opened and a tattie hung up
+in its place; the tattie is a thick mat the size of the doorway, made
+of the sweet-scented cuscus-grass; this is kept constantly wetted on
+the outside.
+
+ [Sidenote: THE MOHURRUN--POSITION OF CUTTACK.]
+
+From the 1st to the 11th of February is the Mohammedan festival
+of the Mohurrun, which is a grand scene. Every night drums beat,
+and dancing and merrymaking are kept up among the men only, as the
+Mohammedan women are kept in seclusion. In the compound the other day
+I saw about a dozen men, one of them thumping away on the horrible
+native drum called a "tomtom." Two others held by heavy chains a
+tall sepoy (this word means a native soldier, and ought to be spelt
+"sepahi"), who was covered all over with a dress of calico, fitting
+tight to the skin--so much so that at first I thought he was naked.
+The calico was painted in alternate stripes of red and yellow, and
+he had two little yellow horns. I imagine it must have been intended
+to represent the devil conquered and chained by Mohammed. He made
+a number of antics, and ended, as all these people do, in begging
+for a few pice; I gave him three annas. The station of Cuttack is
+situated on a small island formed by the confluence of two rivers;
+during the hot weather this island becomes a peninsula joined to the
+main land by a narrow neck of sand. The advantage of this insular
+position is that, whilst we abound in alligators, we are free from
+bears and tigers, neither have we so many pariah-dogs as there were
+about Midnapore. The opposite bank swarms with tigers, and with a
+small telescope we can sometimes see them coming down to drink by
+moonlight. On the opposite bank, all round the island, except to the
+south, rise the rugged hills which dropped from Vishna's fingers.
+There is one great comfort here: the sea is about fifty miles from
+us, in a straight line towards the south, and every evening, at
+about five o'clock, a deliciously cool sea-breeze sets in from that
+direction. About seven it becomes quite gusty, and continues to blow
+until about one in the morning. It is necessary to have lived in such
+a climate as this to know how truly luxurious such evenings are after
+the intense heat of the day, which is now rapidly increasing; the
+thermometer in the shade is about 82° or 84°, and this is only the
+beginning of February.
+
+ [Sidenote: FORT OF CUTTACK.]
+
+A walk round the compound early in the morning is quite delightful.
+On each tree are three or four of the beautiful little striped
+squirrels, whilst in the branches are many paroquets, parrots, &c.
+All about on the ground are numbers of a bird of a bright green,
+with a red breast and head, about the size of a love-bird, and very
+much like it, except that the beak is straight and rather long, and
+from the centre of the tail project two long straight feathers of
+a reddish green. There is also the beautiful mango-bird with its
+bright yellow plumage and its glossy black head. Occasionally may be
+seen an alligator lying asleep, with his head and shoulders on the
+bank and the rest of his body in the water, while a lung-bird has
+just alighted on his head and twitters to its mate by the side of
+the tank. They are about the size of the amadavad, but shaped like
+the swallow, and their plumage is alternately a glossy black or a
+deep crimson, according as the sun shines on it. Then there is the
+India-rubber tree, and skulls bleached in the sun. I saw one with
+its little teeth in the front that had not yet pierced the gums:
+they are the second teeth, and the skull, which is very small, must
+have belonged to a mere child. The house belongs to Government, and
+there are therefore three wells in the compound; but the water is
+not good. The plan for watering this large orchard and garden is
+as follows:--From the edge of the wall to the cistern is a wooden
+trough, into which the water is thrown as it is drawn from the well.
+By this means the cistern is filled. A brick gutter runs from the
+cistern and separates it into so many branches; round each bed and
+every here and there are little openings which let the water run out
+on the bed. Suppose they only want to water one, they just take up a
+little earth in a spade and stop up the other branches of the gutter.
+Whenever it crosses a path, it is carried underneath by means of a
+small drain. The muller takes two long bamboos, having at one end a
+heavy weight and at the other a large gomlah suspended by a cord. One
+muller pulls one cord downward to make the gomlah reach the water,
+the other fills the gomlah, and, letting go the cord at the other end
+of the bamboo, draws it up. This work proceeds with great rapidity,
+and so the cistern gets filled and the garden watered. At a very
+short distance from our garden stand the remains of a fort. When the
+English took Cuttack this fort was garrisoned by the Mahrattas. They,
+however, soon gave it up. The angles of the bastion were rectangles,
+which prevents it being so strong as if they had been obtuse angles,
+for then the balls would have had a tendency to glance off; but its
+great strength consists in the ditch, which is about a hundred or a
+hundred and fifty yards wide, with the perpendicular side faced with
+bricks, full of water and swarming with alligators. The water is
+most foul and offensive, but the medical men say that, if they were
+to empty and drain it, it would make for many months a most fearful
+pestilence. The natives have offered us 30,000_l._ to be allowed to
+drain it, because they say there is a vast quantity of treasure in it.
+
+ [Sidenote: ORIGIN OF THE MOHURRUN.]
+
+I have just learned the origin of the Mohurrun. It is a festival,
+or rather commemoration of the death of Hussein and Houssein, the
+sons of Ali, Mohammed's nephew. These two were pursued towards the
+desert by their enemies; they took shelter in a well, and a spider
+immediately wove a web across the top. Their enemies came up, and,
+seeing the web, thought that Houssein and Hussein could not be in the
+well. However, one of them looking down observed a number of lizards
+all hastening up the sides, so then they thought there must be some
+one at the bottom who frightened the lizards, and, searching, they
+got up the two brothers and killed them. It is to commemorate this
+fact that they have instituted the festival of the Mohurrun, and in
+consequence the Mohammedans all reverence the spider, while they kill
+the lizard.
+
+The fort here is of great extent, comprising, I should think,
+at least 100 acres. The walls have been demolished, and a great
+portion of the interior is now occupied by a botanical garden and a
+racket-court.
+
+The winds have risen to-day with tumultuous fury, as though they
+had been long confined and in one fearful moment had burst their
+prison-house. There is something very grand, though awful, in these
+furious tempest-bursts within the tropics. A few minutes back not a
+leaf rustled; now the trees are waving to and fro, small branches are
+whirled into the air, and leaves and rubbish are carried far away by
+the revolving eddies of almost a hurricane. I could scarcely see the
+river through the volumes of sand which are tossing about mixed with
+the spray.
+
+
+
+
+Monday, February 13, 1843.
+
+
+I am going to cross the river into the jungle in a day or two, with
+two other gentlemen. Our object is to plan a new village for some
+native Christians. We each take a gun and a brace of pistols, and
+have no doubt that we shall bring home some venison. We shall also
+look out as we go along for two tigers, which have recently committed
+terrible depredations about Condah, whither we are going. The other
+day they carried off two men.
+
+Gold-dust is mixed with the sand of the river, but the quantity is
+very small, and is therefore not considered worth the trouble and
+expense of collecting.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, March 4, 1843.
+
+
+One of my servants came to me this morning, and told me that there
+was a boa-constrictor in the garden. I immediately desired all
+the men to take long bamboos, and we sallied forth to attack the
+monster. By the time we got to the place, however, he had retreated
+into his hole in the ground; we had therefore to dig him out, and as
+soon as he appeared all the men struck him with their bamboos until
+they killed him. It proved not to be a boa, but a yellow snake about
+seven feet long, and was not venomous. We killed it, however, lest it
+might endanger the poultry-yard.
+
+ [Sidenote: EXCURSION TO CHOGGA.]
+
+On Wednesday the 15th of February we started on our trip--myself and
+Mr. L., a missionary: Captain W. was not able to accompany us on
+account of the parade, but was to join us in the evening. On Tuesday
+afternoon we got our guns in readiness, and sent off some camp
+furniture, viz. a bedstead, table, &c., which fold up so as to be
+easily portable. My bed, food, clothes, &c., were carried by two men,
+each of whom was to receive two annas, that is three pence, a-day.
+Chogga, and not Condah, is the name of the place to which we were
+going, and it would be impossible to obtain anything there to eat
+except what we shot ourselves.
+
+At four o'clock on Wednesday morning Mr. L. came to my house, and we
+took some coffee, eggs, and toast, and then set off, my companion on
+a tall white horse and I on a little native pony, both of us dressed
+entirely in white. I had with me a bearer, a kitmajar, and a syce.
+Mr. L. had also a bearer, a cooly, and a syce, with several coolies
+carrying provisions. The syces were only to accompany us as far as
+the river, and then take the horses back; the others carried our
+guns, pistols, powder, hunting knives, which are very necessary both
+to kill everything that is wounded, and also to defend ourselves if
+thrown down by an elk, tiger, &c. It was necessary that we should
+cross the river about ten miles from my house, so off we trotted
+followed by our train. Everything was perfectly still, the moon
+just setting, and a cold damp fog hanging over the whole island.
+For the first half-mile we got along very well. We had then to turn
+into the bed of the river, now dwindled to a narrow stream. Our
+course lay over a deep bed of loose sand something like that at
+Weston-super-Mare, only much worse, our horses' feet sinking at every
+step five or six inches; the poor animals could not move quicker
+than a trot. As the moon set, and the fog closed around us, the scene
+became one of utter desolation: the narrow pathway, if you can call
+it a pathway, winding so as to avoid the deeper sands and quicksands,
+did not permit us riding two abreast. Far ahead, magnified by the
+mist, I could just see the tall figure of Mr. L. and his white steed;
+behind I could hear a low chattering, and now and then one of the
+black servants would emerge from the fog and then vanish again as
+suddenly as he had appeared. From time to time arose a shrill cry
+from some one who had wandered from the path, answered as shrilly by
+the other men. As the fog thickened everything disappeared. The path
+was barely discernible, and I almost wished myself at home. However I
+trusted to the sagacity of my sure-footed little pony, and he carried
+me safely over the sand-hills and through the hollows for about
+three-quarters of an hour, when I heard a shout in front, announcing
+that Mr. L. had reached the water. I soon came up with him. We
+waited till our servants joined us, then dismounted, gave our horses
+to the syces with orders to be at the same place at six o'clock on
+Thursday evening, and embarked in a large boat, which, to render it
+water-tight, or rather to keep it afloat, was filled up to the seat
+with bushes and brambles trodden into a compact mass.
+
+The boatmen told us that two nights before, as three carts were going
+along the path to Chogga, a tiger had sprung out and carried off the
+man in the centre cart, and that a few days earlier two men had been
+carried away from the village itself. The other side of the river is
+a steep bank without sand, and by the time we reached it the day was
+just breaking, of which, to tell the truth, I was by no means sorry.
+
+ [Sidenote: SPORTING.]
+
+On the bank we found the coolies whom we had sent forward the evening
+before, and who had waited there for us, being afraid to proceed
+through the jungle until they had the protection of the sahibs. There
+we took our guns, &c., into our own hands, girded on our belts, in
+which were thrust our long hunting knives or daggers and our pistols,
+letting our servants carry our powder-flasks, shot-belts, &c. This is
+done in order to be able to load with greater rapidity, the servant
+holding the shot, wad, cap, &c., in readiness. He also carries a
+heavy ramrod with a round knob at the top, as the drawing the ramrod
+from the gun, returning it, and hammering away with it at the powder,
+which you must do on account of its lightness, might frequently cause
+delay that might be fatal. Most people, for the sake of safety, use
+double-barrelled guns; mine was, however, only single, but the barrel
+was long enough for two.
+
+At last off we started along the regular path to Chogga. The change
+was most extraordinary; the fog had already cleared away; we were
+walking along a narrow winding path cut through the jungle. On each
+side of us extended as far as the eye could reach a vast plain
+covered with laurels and shrubs of a bright green, interspersed here
+and there with large flowers of a brilliant crimson or scarlet, and
+more rarely with trees of a stunted growth, on which numbers of
+little tiny doves were cooing their greeting to the sun. The bushes,
+which we call low jungle, grow to four or five feet in height, and
+so thickly that it is impossible to pass through them, except where
+a path has been cut, or where a natural glade or opening occurs.
+We walked on looking out anxiously for some opening, as we knew we
+should find nothing worth firing at in the open plain. Suddenly,
+on turning an angle in the path, we saw at the distance of about a
+quarter of a mile on the right a clear space with a few large trees
+in it. Amid the branches sat fifteen or twenty pea-fowl, and on the
+open glade were as many more feeding. Shortly afterwards we came to a
+smaller one, which enabled us to separate, so that we might approach
+the pea-fowl in different directions; however we could not get within
+shot, which we much regretted.
+
+But I own I was not quite so eager in pushing through the jungle as
+I should have been the next day; it was quite novel to me, and I
+could not help thinking every now and then of the dreaded cobra or
+the scarcely less dreaded tiger. Indeed, of the last I had a fearful
+reminder before I rejoined Mr. L.
+
+In a small space of clear ground I came suddenly upon the skeleton
+of a man, evidently lately killed, for much of the flesh was still
+adhering to the bones. Probably it was the poor driver of whom we
+had heard. I had quite lost sight of Mr. L., but presently heard
+him shout from some distance behind me. I made my way towards him,
+and soon reached a small paddy-field (rice-field). Here was a small
+bull of a very dark colour, who did not seem at all pleased with our
+intrusion: he looked at us for a minute, and then came galloping
+towards us, shaking his head and tail in his anger. My two servants
+called out that it was a wild cow, and crouched down behind me.
+I felt a little nervous, but faced the animal, and drew a pistol
+from my belt; however, as he came near, I saw a small piece of
+cord fastened to one of his horns, and therefore knew it was not
+an "unner" or wild cow. I desired the men to shout, and myself did
+the same, running towards the animal and waving my hat. He stopped
+a moment hesitating, and then, as I rushed forward, he threw up his
+tail in the air and scampered off, very much to my relief.
+
+Mr. L. now came up, and we proceeded on our road. Presently one of
+the men who was a little in advance stopped and pointed to a tree at
+a little distance. Mr. L. primed his gun and fired, and down dropped
+a fine hen. Wild hens abound in the jungles, and are excellent
+eating, possessing a slight flavour of game.
+
+Soon after we came to a spot of ground where we beheld a number
+of quails. I fired and killed two. Again we went on, but met with
+no further adventure until we came to Chogga. The last mile and
+a half of our journey lay through paddy-fields with the stubble
+still on them. The heat was intense, and by the time we reached our
+destination I was thoroughly tired.
+
+Chogga is a small native village surrounded by jungle, standing
+about seven or eight miles from the river. It does not belong to the
+English, but is in the territory of one of our tributary rajahs. Mr.
+L. has a bungalow there, if such it can be called, consisting as it
+does of a single room about sixteen feet square, built of mud, and
+thatched with rice-straw. He has made many converts here, and is
+about to erect a Christian village about his own bungalow, which is
+half a mile from Chogga itself, and well situated on a small spot of
+rising ground. The appearance and manner of these wild, naked, yet
+Christian savages, was to me deeply interesting.
+
+As soon as we arrived, a number of natives, both men and women,
+crowded about us. Many of them were Christians, though in dress they
+adhered to their old habits. Mr. L. at once took off everything but
+his trowsers, and after some hesitation I did the same. After this we
+had breakfast and then lay down on our camp beds and rested for two
+or three hours. About one I felt hungry, so went out and shot a few
+doves, which abound on every tree.
+
+ [Sidenote: SPORTING.]
+
+About half-past three we collected as many men as possible and went
+out to beat the jungle, through which Mr. L. and myself worked our
+way until we came to a small open space. There one of us posted
+himself; the other went on until he found another similar spot, where
+he also stationed himself. As soon as the shikarree who was with
+us saw where we were ready, he stole out of the jungle and placed
+the twenty-five men in a large semicircle, our positions being the
+centre, and the radius about half a mile. As soon as they were all
+stationed, at a signal they began to roar and groan and make the
+most frightful noises, beating the bushes with their long bamboos,
+and pushing through the jungle towards the open space where we were
+placed. This was in a high jungle, and really the scene on such an
+occasion is most exciting. You stand on a small space of fifteen or
+twenty yards in diameter, bounded on every side by lofty trees and
+thick underwood, your gun in your hand, your man behind you holding
+the next charge in readiness. In every quarter the shrieks and yells
+of the beaters are heard; presently there is a whirr in the air, and
+a peacock flies through the open space above your head. Bang goes the
+gun, off runs one of the men to pick up the bird; load again! quick!
+hark! What a rush in the bushes! There it comes! An elk or stag, shot
+but not killed; and a man rushes out and cuts the animal's throat.
+
+An alarm of "Tiger!" was now given, but it proved false, as nothing
+but a wild cat darted over the glade. Shouts again rend the air, and
+a magnificent red peacock, with a deep green tail and neck of gold,
+flies over our heads, his long tail streaming behind him, and the
+brown hen at his side. The opening above our heads was small, and an
+immediate fire was necessary: I fired and missed him. The beaters
+now approached nearer and nearer, shouting, and their dark forms
+soon became visible gliding one by one out of the jungle. Nothing
+more was to be found there; we accordingly moved on, and presently
+were beckoned to by the shikarree. He pressed his finger to his lips
+and whispered "Choop! choop!" and, pointing down a narrow opening in
+the jungle, showed us a large leopard, beautifully spotted, lying
+apparently asleep. While loading our guns the animal awoke, and was
+stealing off just as we fired and hit him, though he contrived to
+crawl off. The next day, however, we found the body, as the arrow
+was poisoned. The skin is valuable. The shikarree, who proudly bore
+off the body, would suffer no one to assist him; but that same man
+would not carry home the merest trifle from the bazaar, but must be
+followed by a coolie.
+
+Captain W. soon met us, and we returned home to dinner, after which
+we sallied out by moonlight to seek some deer, but were unsuccessful.
+
+ [Sidenote: CONVERTS AND "INQUIRERS."]
+
+The next morning, rising at four, after a cup of coffee we sallied
+into the jungle again, but obtained nothing but a few fowls. Captain
+W. now left us on his return home, and after breakfast a number of
+native Christians assembled, as this was the morning appointed for
+talking to them. They all squatted down on the floor, the men on one
+side and the women on the other. Mr. L., who is thoroughly conversant
+with the Oorial language, now entered into conversation with them,
+asking them questions and hearing all they had to say. They appear
+to have a very good knowledge of true religion, and to be very
+earnest and sincere. It was most interesting to see them all sitting
+so quietly with their eyes fixed on Mr. L.'s face, never attempting
+to interrupt either him or one another, but speaking one at a time
+in a low reverent tone of voice. When asked a question they would
+pause a moment or two in deep thought before they answered. After
+a little time one or two inquirers came in, that is, men who are
+not yet converted, but are inquiring about Christianity, or arguing
+concerning it and comparing it with their own religion. These sat
+down and behaved themselves in the same decorous manner as the actual
+Christians. Mr. L. very judiciously encouraged the converts to argue
+with the inquirers, and it was most pleasing to observe the perfect
+mildness and the restrained gestures of both parties when talking
+on so holy a subject, every eye fixed upon the two disputants, and
+when a pause occurred some other convert gently putting in a word in
+support of the holy truth.
+
+_Inquirer._ "You say God gave you the Bible, I say God gave us the
+Shasters. The religion that is good for the white man is not good for
+the black. God is good, and has given us each a religion proper to
+ourselves. I say your religion is good and comes from God; why will
+you not say the same of our Shasters?"
+
+_Convert._ "God gave white men the Bible because he is very good, and
+he told them to go and teach it to every one, because he wishes every
+one to be good and happy, and to go to the happy country of heaven
+when they die; but the Shasters do not come from God."
+
+_I._ "How do you know that?"
+
+_C._ "Listen, brother. Brummah (God) is good, is he not?"
+
+_I._ "Yes."
+
+_C._ "Should not you like to go to Brummah?"
+
+_I._ "Yes."
+
+_C._ "Do not the Shasters of your religion teach you so?"
+
+_I._ "Ha! you are very sly. No; but our religion is good for us now.
+By and bye Vishnoo will come again, and then he will perhaps give us
+a Bible."
+
+_C._ "Why not take the Christian Bible and Christian Brummah now?"
+
+_I._ "Then I should lose my caste, my wife will leave me, my children
+will go away, my brother will not smoke with me, my hut will be
+empty, and the Brahmins will curse me."
+
+_C._ "If the Brahmins curse you, God is stronger than they are, and
+he will bless you; if your wife and children run away, Jesus will
+make you happy in heaven; if your brother will not smoke with you,
+the great God will give you his peace."
+
+_I._ "Well, I will see. Lend me the book; I will read it and show it
+to the Brahmins. How soon shall you be here again, sahib?"
+
+_Mr. L._ "In about ten days."
+
+_I._ "Good: I will see you again."
+
+This is a mere epitome of the conversation, but may furnish some idea
+of the mode of argument pursued. Whenever the convert brought forward
+a good argument, or came to a convincing point, it was curious to
+see the countenance of the Christians. They had been watching their
+champion with the greatest interest, looking more like dark statues
+than human beings, so perfectly still did they sit, except when a
+mother pressed her infant to her bosom to keep it quiet. Suddenly, as
+they saw the drift of what was said more clearly, their white eyes
+would dance amid their dark skins, and one or two of them would smile
+and utter gently the emphatic word "Ha!" (yes).
+
+A nice-looking young woman brought her baby to show it. It was only
+two months old, and had not yet been baptized. Poor woman! I won
+her heart completely by taking it from her and kissing it. Mr. L.
+seemed a little surprised at my doing so, but both the mother and
+her husband were delighted. She asked me to name her child. Mr. L.
+wished it to be a scriptural name. I accordingly gave it the first
+that came into my head, which was "Benjamin." It was interesting to
+watch the mother's face as I named the child, she had apparently
+never heard the name before, and there was much amusement amongst
+them, all trying to pronounce it; they could not quite manage it,
+but, as the mother carried the little one out, several of the men
+patted its cheek and smiled, and said very slowly Bend-za-min. There
+were to have been four adults baptized on this day, but one of them
+came in the morning and said that his wife declared she would not
+live with a Christian, that she had taken her children and all his
+fortune, consisting of one rupee and two pice, and had gone away to
+her brother's house. Mr. L. advised the man to go and reason with
+her, which he did, and we afterwards heard that she had returned with
+him on condition that he would not become a Christian.
+
+The people have literally given up father, mother, wife, children,
+friends, and home as soon as they become followers of Jesus. They are
+looked upon as utterly degraded; and the tribe to which they belong
+has to pay a sum of money to the Brahmins before they can be freed
+from the stain which attaches to them in consequence of the pollution.
+
+Mr. L. preached in the afternoon, and in the evening the Christians
+again met, when he addressed them a discourse in the midst of a
+tremendous thunderstorm.
+
+ [Sidenote: RETURN TO CUTTACK.]
+
+When we rose the next morning at four o'clock we found that the rain
+had been so heavy during the night that we could get no fuel to make
+a fire: our provisions, having been neglected, were all spoiled by
+the rain, excepting a small piece of thick pie-crust; our beer we
+had exhausted the evening before; so after a scanty meal we started
+on our way home. We shot a peacock and fowl upon the road along with
+three snipes, and arrived at Cuttack about half-past eight on Friday
+morning.
+
+ [Sidenote: COMET.]
+
+I have just witnessed a magnificent sight; during the last month
+we have had such weather as the oldest inhabitant cannot recollect
+ever to have seen before at this time of the year. It is generally
+in February and March very hot and very dry. For the last month
+we have had almost incessant rain, with violent thunderstorms.
+The days are comparatively cool, and at night I am glad of two
+blankets. Rumours of an approaching famine began to float abroad,
+but at length the mystery was solved. About half-past six I thought
+I observed a curiously shaped long cloud, and as the sun went down
+and the twilight deepened it did not alter its appearance, but at
+about a quarter to seven proved to be a magnificent comet. The
+nucleus was plainly visible even with the naked eye, and equal in
+brightness to a small star. The tail was at least 45° in length, and
+inclined from W.S.W. to E.S.E. Had it been perpendicular it would
+have reached from the horizon half way up over our heads, the whole
+distance from the horizon to the zenith being 90°. The breadth of the
+extremity of the tail was about 2-1/2°, and the posterior half was
+divided longitudinally by a dark line. The colour was that of a pale
+moonlight, but it would no doubt have appeared much more red if the
+moon had not been shining brightly at the time. There has been no
+comet equal to this in brilliancy and the length of the tail since
+the year 1759. I have hardly any books to refer to, but my idea is,
+that it is the same comet which appeared in 1264 and 1556, and was
+expected back in 1848. If so, its period of revolution is nearly
+300 years. Its light was intense, being almost equal to the moon in
+brilliancy. The natives say it will burn the earth; they call it
+"jherra tarn," or "burnt star."
+
+The weather is most remarkable. We have incessant rain, with thunder
+and lightning every evening, and the clouds are too heavy to allow us
+to see the comet. The houses require fresh thatching every year. The
+lightning we have here I have never seen equalled in England; each
+flash spreads over one quarter of the visible heavens, whilst the
+roaring, or rather the deafening rattle, of the thunder is incessant.
+The comet re-appeared last night, though hardly so brilliant as it
+was a week ago.
+
+I was calling upon the judge of Cuttack the other day, and his wife
+told me that a few nights before she went up stairs at twelve o'clock
+to see her little girl, who had not been quite well. On the floor of
+the room she saw what she thought was a piece of ribbon, and stooped
+to pick it up, when a cobra raised its head and expanded its hood and
+hissed at her in anger. She called the servants with their bamboos,
+and they soon killed it, but it was a great mercy that she had not
+touched it.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, April 13, 1843.
+
+
+The other evening the mhator came to ask me for the key to unlock
+the fowl-house door, as one of the hens was loose. I told him to
+bring a light, and then went across the compound. The padlock with
+which the door is fastened passes through a chain and eye at the top
+of the door. I raised my hand to unlock it, when the mhator, who had
+the lantern, called out, "Sahib, sahib, samp!" (Sir, sir, a snake!)
+I looked, and on the very chain which I was on the point of touching
+was a snake. I immediately called the men to bring bamboos, and they
+soon killed it. On examining it we found it to be one of that sort
+whose bite is always fatal, so that the person bitten never lives
+more than half an hour, and there would be no time for the doctor to
+come. How thankful I should be to God for my escape! I suspect that
+the snake was the cobra manilla, but am not sure. It was about two
+feet and a half long, small head, back dark green or nearly black,
+with all the way along it transverse yellow stripes.
+
+ [Sidenote: HINDU FESTIVAL.]
+
+About three weeks ago was a poojah, or Hindu festival, of which
+I forget the name. About nine o'clock in the evening of the
+principal day four sepoys came to my house with the subadar major's
+compliments, and he would be glad if I would do them the honour to go
+and see the samam or show (the subadar major is the principal native
+officer in a regiment). I had refused them once or twice before,
+therefore this evening I sent my compliments and I would be there
+in a few minutes. When I got to the lines or houses of the sepoys I
+found a magnificent tent about two hundred feet long, into which I
+was ushered with much ceremony.
+
+The scene was most interesting. At the upper end there were a few
+European officers, while down each side were ranged three or four
+rows of dark sepoys seated on their hams, which is the favourite
+position among the natives. The tent was lighted by a number of
+flaming torches, which threw their red light upon the swarthy faces
+of about seven or eight hundred gigantic up-country sepoys. The whole
+centre of the tent was clear for the evolutions of the nautch-girls
+(dancing girls): of these, who were generally young and tolerably
+good-looking, there were several parties of four or five. All those
+of one party held each other by the hand, and kept dancing backward
+and forward with a sort of regular motion, and singing in a peculiar
+cadence. The song was an invocation of blessing on those who happened
+to be opposite them at the time, and every now and then they would
+separate to point with their hands to those who were designated
+in the verse. The light danced upon the spangles with which their
+dresses were covered, whilst innumerable little bells jingled on
+their arms and ankles.
+
+When I entered the subadar major immediately came to me with a
+long-necked brazen vessel, from which he sprinkled over my clothes
+a scent extracted from the sandal-wood. He then poured some into
+his hand and rubbed my face and whiskers with it. This they call
+anointing. He then presented me with two packets of spices wrapped up
+in sweet-scented leaves.
+
+As soon as he retired a party of nautch-girls came up, and, after
+singing a song in my praise and blessing me, suddenly separated and
+each one threw over me a quantity of crimson powder. In a minute my
+face and clothes were of a brilliant red; and wherever I had been
+anointed the powder stuck like paint. Every one was served in the
+same manner, and a pretty set we must have appeared: this is the
+chief fun of the festival. During the three or four days that it
+lasts almost every native that you meet has more or less of this red
+powder (called akbeer) on his body or dress. Even my monkey, which
+is a sacred animal with the Hindus, I found covered with it every
+morning. I did not stay long at the tomasa, but was glad that I
+had seen it: however, the cassock I had on was spoiled, not by the
+powder, for that I managed to brush off, but by the anointing, which
+has left in it so powerful a scent that it is not wearable.
+
+ [Sidenote: CHENA POOJAH.]
+
+Last Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday was the Chena poojah, or swinging
+festival. Upright poles are fixed in the earth, and at the top of
+each is another pole which revolves upon the first. The religious
+devotees are said to suspend themselves to one end of the revolving
+pole by iron hooks stuck into their flesh, and are then whirled round
+and round by a number of men. Many of these mistaken men are said to
+die in consequence of the tortures they endure.
+
+At this festival it is also reported that other devotees lie on
+their stomachs whilst the priests press sharp knives into them until
+they pin them to the ground, and that this does not always kill them;
+but that when it does they consider they shall go to Brummah, their
+God, and that the deity will be pleased with such suffering. I am
+told they never utter a groan; but I would not go to see them, though
+there are strong doubts whether it be not a deception.
+
+ [Sidenote: ELEPHANT-RIDING.]
+
+I now often go out with Captain W. before breakfast. An account of
+one morning will suffice. I was called at half-past three; dressed,
+and had some coffee, bread and butter, and an egg. At half-past four
+Captain W. and Lieutenant H. called for me on an elephant. I gave my
+gunpowder, &c. to two of my men to carry. The great animal then knelt
+down. He had no howdah, as that is not necessary, except for ladies.
+The only clothing on the elephant is a thick pad or cushion, covered
+with leather, which extends over the whole of the back. He knelt, and
+I climbed up in the usual manner; that is, by standing on his hind
+foot, then catching hold of a rope which hangs down from his pad, and
+scrambling up as well as one can. The mahout then told the elephant
+to get up; and off we started, half sitting half lying on the pad,
+and the servants, with the guns, &c., walking behind. It seems a
+fearful height, and for the first few miles I could not help thinking
+of the danger of a fall. However, one gets accustomed to such things.
+
+The elephant carried us bravely over the loose sands, and down to a
+ford in the river. In crossing the stream he went more cautiously,
+seeming to feel each place before he put his foot down, as if he were
+afraid of getting into a quicksand. Once or twice, when the water was
+deep, I thought he would have been obliged to swim; but I was wrong:
+though it would not have mattered if he had; we should have been
+quite safe on his back.
+
+After crossing the sand on the other side we went through some
+paddy-fields and jungle towards a jheel (or marsh), which I had
+mentioned as containing a great number of ducks. I had been there
+previously on foot with Mr. L. When we reached the jheel a heavy
+fog came on, and Captain W. therefore proposed that we should go
+on farther into the jungle, in hopes of its clearing up, when we
+should find some hares. You must remember that in India, where we get
+nothing whatever but mutton and fowls, and where we cannot buy even
+these, everything in the shape of meat is a treat, if not a necessary.
+
+On we went; the fog cleared up; we got down in a jungle of low
+brushwood, interspersed with several open spaces. We found some men
+taking charge of a herd of buffaloes: for two pice each they agreed
+to assist our servants in beating the bushes, and we were not long
+before we started several hares. I only shot one; the others were
+more fortunate.
+
+At half-past seven we started on our way back. As we passed the jheel
+I shot a widgeon. At half-past eight got home, had a cold bath, and
+enjoyed my breakfast; and at dinner was very glad to have the hare
+and widgeon, for the expense of two pice. I often go out this way.
+The elephant belongs to the regiment which is stationed here. The
+exercise before breakfast is most healthy. One time we came upon a
+place in the midst of the jungle which I intend to visit again in the
+cold weather, when I shall have more time to examine it.
+
+
+
+
+April 15, 1843.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: FURNITURE.]
+
+I will now endeavour to give you an idea of some of our arrangements.
+We have moved to the other side of the house in order to have
+our bed-room to the west; because the sea-breeze, which blows
+every night, is a south-west wind. The room in which I am sitting
+was my wife's dressing-room; the one I use is fifty feet long.
+Dressing-rooms are absolutely necessary in this country, because
+nothing is put into the sleeping apartment except the bed, because
+of the mosquitoes, which harbour in swarms wherever they can find
+shelter. The bed is never placed against the wall, but always in
+the middle of the room; and the feet are placed in pans of water,
+to prevent the white ants, centipedes, &c. from paying you a visit
+during the night.
+
+The room I am now in has one French window opening into the verandah
+in front, another towards the church, a door opening into the next
+room, and another into the godown or store-room. All these windows
+and doors are now open, and I am sitting as near the centre as
+I can, to catch what little breeze there is, for the weather is
+fearfully hot; the thermometer at noon about 90° in-doors. It is
+now eleven in the evening, and my wife is gone to bed. The floor,
+which is of cement (wooden floors are never used here on account of
+the white ant), is covered with a curious sort of matting, made of
+the leaves of the date-tree. We always use mats instead of carpets
+in India, because they are much cooler. The walls and the ceilings
+are whitewashed, the universal substitute for paper or paint in the
+Mofussil. When I say the ceiling, I mean the ceiling-cloths, which
+are great sheets of canvas covering the tops of the rooms, and
+fastened up with cords.
+
+Over my head swings a punkah or fan, about eighteen feet long and
+three wide, made of canvas stretched on a wooden frame, and also
+whitewashed. This hangs from the ceiling, or rather from some bamboos
+placed upon the ceiling. Suspended from the lower edge of the punkah
+is a sort of full flounce of white calico circling along the whole
+length. The punkah is swung backwards and forwards over my head by
+means of a long rope pulled by a bearer sitting in the verandah. This
+man is now fast asleep, but still he continues to pull the rope, and
+so he would do for hours if I required it.
+
+The furniture of the room consists of a table, a sideboard, and a
+large screen of common cloth, stretched on a frame of sissoo-wood
+(a sort of coarse rose-wood). It is about seven feet high and seven
+across, and is placed before the door of the garden. On the sideboard
+stands a flat candlestick, with a glass shade to keep the insects
+from the flame. The candle is wax; we cannot use tallow for two
+reasons: the climate of India is so hot that the candles would not
+remain upright, and the sheep here have very little fat upon them. On
+the table are two Indian table-lamps. I hardly know how to describe
+them. The lower part is like an upright candlestick, on which is
+placed a glass cup half filled with water, the other half with
+cocoa-nut oil. In the bottom is a little bit of lead with two thin
+cotton wicks in it, which reach a little above the surface of the
+oil. These are alight. Over the whole is a large inverted bell-glass
+to keep off the insects, which at present swarm around. Every minute
+I hear the mosquitoes buzzing about my ears; then they settle on my
+face, and on my clothes, through which they are enabled to bite with
+ease. This keeps me in a continued fidget.
+
+There is also an incessant whistling all around from what we call
+crickets, though they are somewhat different from those in England.
+A number of large grasshoppers, about two inches long, of a light
+green, are hopping about on the table, and occasionally on my paper.
+On the wall are several long-tailed lizards: they are only slightly
+venomous; and, though extremely ugly, we are always glad to see them,
+because they eat the mosquitoes. Round the ceiling are circling three
+large bats, which my mungoose, sitting in a corner, keeps watching.
+Should one fall, he would seize and devour him in an instant. A wild
+cat came through the room just now, and took a peep at me; but the
+mungoose growled, and it ran way. It was small; but it has been very
+destructive in the poultry-yard.
+
+ [Sidenote: OLD CUTTACK.]
+
+But I must now return to what I was telling. The place which we came
+upon in the jungle is called Old Cuttack; and it deserves the name,
+for I do not suppose it has been inhabited for the last thousand
+years. It appears from what little I saw of it to be a most wonderful
+place, and certainly proves that the population in the olden times
+must have been very numerous, and far advanced in mechanical arts. It
+consists of a deep ravine, the sides of which are composed of a dark
+rock of extreme hardness, and containing a great quantity of iron. On
+one side it has been made perfectly smooth, although certainly not
+less than seventy feet in height: on the other are numerous steps and
+staircases, cut out of the solid rock. The stone does not seem to
+have been broken off and then chiselled smooth, but it appears as if
+the steps had been cut out in solid pieces.
+
+On the summit are the remains of houses built of large blocks, all
+perfectly smooth, saving from the effects of time and weather.
+Scattered about are heaps of rock, as if collected for building. At a
+little distance on the banks of the river is a sort of seawall, which
+I have not yet seen, but in which, they tell me, many of the masses
+of rock are sixteen or eighteen feet long.
+
+All this appears doubly wonderful when you remember that the natives
+now, almost naked, build their houses of mud, without windows, and
+with a miserable thatch; that their fireplaces are nothing but little
+holes in the ground; and that in most respects they are absolute
+savages. Either they have very much degenerated, or, which is more
+probable, the race which built these mighty works is swept away.
+
+
+
+
+April 17, 1843.
+
+
+I was in doubt concerning the Chena Poojah, but it appears that the
+hooks are fastened to a cord, which cuts into the body, and literally
+causes the blood to flow in streams. They say also that it is the
+victims themselves that pass the spears into their bodies, and not
+the priests.
+
+ [Sidenote: THE COTTON-TREE.]
+
+I may here mention that my compound and garden formerly belonged
+to a General Carpenter, and he planted and sowed many very rare
+plants--some from China, from America, and from the islands in
+the Pacific. There are three trees of a very particular sort, of
+which I very much wish to know the name. They are generally called
+the cotton-tree, although altogether different from the ordinary
+cotton-plant, and I suspect they come from America. The tree is about
+thirty-five or forty feet in height, not many branches, and a very
+smooth bark. I cannot describe the leaf, for as yet it is not out;
+but it has borne flowers and fruit since I have been here; of course,
+therefore, these were before the leaves. The flower, of a brilliant
+red, is in appearance half-way between a tulip and a tiger-lily; it
+grows from buds in the thick branches, and is about twice the size
+of the latter flower. The blossom gives place to a pod about four or
+five inches in length, and in the form of a sphere drawn out at both
+ends. The interior of the pod is divided longitudinally into four
+segments: the whole contains a great number of black seeds buried in
+a soft silky cotton. I intend to stuff some pillows with it: I think
+it will be as soft as down. The fibres are said to be too short to
+form cloth; but I think if they had this tree in England they would
+manage to use it, and the cloth would resemble very soft silk.
+
+
+
+
+Juggernat'h, May, 1843.
+
+
+The first account I received of the Chena Poojah was correct. The
+hooks are passed through the muscles on each side the spine: for
+several days previously the muscles are rubbed and beaten in order
+to harden them. At the festival they frequently run pieces of iron
+through the tongue. The victims belong to the lowest castes, and
+generally swing and torture themselves as proxies for the Brahmins
+who have made a vow.
+
+This place is marked Juggernat'h on the maps, although properly that
+is only the name of the idol in the temple. The town itself is called
+Pooree, or the City of Cities.
+
+ [Sidenote: POOREE.]
+
+I left Cuttack on Thursday, April 20, and after one night's dâk
+arrived here, the distance being about forty-eight miles. I went to
+the Circuit-house, a large unfurnished residence, appropriated by
+Government to the use of those officers who go on circuit through the
+district. However, Mr. B., the magistrate and principal person here,
+would not allow me to remain there, but insisted upon my coming and
+living at his house, and sending at once for my wife to come and join
+me. This I gladly did. Mrs. Acland discharged most of our servants,
+and came down here; so she has the benefit of living at Pooree,
+and at the same time of saving money, for the month's wages of the
+servants discharged will more than pay for her journey. We have a
+bed-room, sitting and dressing apartments, and two bath-rooms to
+ourselves; and we breakfast, dine, &c., with Mr. and Mrs. B.
+
+It is difficult to imagine the delight of coming to such a place as
+Pooree. At Cuttack we are obliged to keep every door and window shut,
+in order to exclude the hot air. We close them at six in the morning
+and open them at seven in the evening. One doorway is fitted with a
+framework, covered with matting made of scented grass. This is called
+a tatty, and is kept all day thoroughly wet, in order to cool the
+room by evaporation, the punkah continually fanning over head; but
+in spite of all this the heat is fearful, and still increasing; the
+thermometer stood in-doors at 103°.
+
+At Pooree, forty-eight miles from Cuttack, we have no punkahs, no
+tatties; all the windows wide open, the waves rolling up close to
+the houses, a delicious sea-breeze all day, the thermometer never
+yet above 85°; not a mosquito to be seen, and no insects but a few
+English flies. Excepting among the mountains, Pooree is perhaps the
+coolest place in India, and I am considered most fortunate in having
+it in my district.
+
+The coming here is a renewal of life and strength. When we are
+down on the sands in the evening, we might quite fancy ourselves
+in England again; and I assure you that at five o'clock in the
+afternoon, by the sea-side, we are glad to walk fast in order to keep
+ourselves warm. This is the state of Pooree at present. After the
+rains, that is, in October and November, it becomes extremely hot
+and very unhealthy; for then the sea-breeze ceases and the land-wind
+sets in, passing in its course over the dead bodies of hundreds of
+pilgrims.
+
+The most conspicuous object here is the temple of Juggernat'h, to
+which devotees come from every part of India. It is an immense pile
+of massive buildings. There are at times as many as one hundred
+thousand pilgrims here at once. No European is allowed to enter even
+the court.
+
+ [Sidenote: DANGER OF BATHING.]
+
+The sea is most magnificent. The beach is composed entirely of sand,
+something like that at Weston-super-Mare; but there is only a few
+yards' difference between high and low water. There is an incessant
+surf extending almost to the horizon--one line behind another of
+enormous breakers. Some people used occasionally to bathe, but the
+surf rendered it very dangerous, and at last one of them had a
+leg carried away by a shark, since which every one is afraid; we
+therefore have salt water brought up to the house.[3]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[3] A gap occurs here in the narrative, from a portion of it having
+gone down in the "Memnon" in the Red Sea.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, August 7, 1843.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: MOFUSSIL SOCIETY--MORNING VISITS.]
+
+I must now give an account of Mofussil society. We will suppose a
+married couple going to a new station,--as, for instance, my wife
+and myself coming to Cuttack. Well, we arrive wretched enough about
+eight o'clock in the morning, after a long dâk journey. All that
+day we are engaged in setting things to rights. The next morning I
+order my carriage, and go out to make my calls; for in India, unlike
+England, the stranger calls first. The hours for calling are from
+half-past ten to one, after which time you would not be admitted
+anywhere, as it is supposed that the lady of the house is just going
+to tiffin (lunch), which she takes at two, and then goes to sleep for
+two or three hours.
+
+Of course the first person I call on is the commanding officer. I
+drive in at the gate of the compound, and under some trees, up to
+the house door, and so under the portico; for every house has a
+very large carriage portico to protect the horses from the sun. My
+carriage is a phaëton--the britska, phaëton, and buggy being almost
+the only vehicles used in India. The britska does very well for a
+judge, and the buggy a sort of carriage for a single man. Mine is a
+phaëton with two ponies. On the box sits the coachman--dark-brown
+face, large black mustachios, white calico tunic and trowsers, white
+turban, turned up with pale blue, as livery, and blue and white
+cummerband round the waist; except only when it is wet, and then he
+wears a crimson skull-cap, and a scarlet full cloak with sleeves. A
+syce or groom runs by the side of the ponies.
+
+Arrived at the door, I call out "Sahib hy?" Gentleman in? meaning, Is
+your master at home? If not, I leave a card: if he is, I enter the
+house, and follow the servant who has answered me. I should have told
+you that there are no such things as knockers or bells here. Every
+door is open, unless in the very hot weather, and there are always
+six or eight servants lounging about in the verandah. As I step out
+of the carriage, each one of these stoops down, touches the ground
+with the back of his hand, and then pats his forehead three or four
+times, signifying, I suppose, that, if I were to order him, he would
+even throw dirt upon his own head.
+
+In reply to the question "Sahib hy?" one of the men answers, "Hy,
+khadawum"--He is, O representative of God; at the same time holding
+his hands pressed together as if he were saying his prayers. He
+precedes me into the house, still in the same attitude. He sets me a
+chair, whilst another man comes in, unfastens the rope of the punkah,
+and, taking the end of it out into the verandah, sits down and pulls
+it, and very soon falls asleep, still, however, continuing his
+occupation.
+
+Presently in comes the master of the house, dressed in white jacket,
+black neckerchief (if any), white shirt, white trowsers, white
+stockings, and shoes made of some white skin. I should have told
+you that the servant who shows me in takes my card to his master,
+with which card his master plays the whole time I am there. In a few
+minutes in comes the lady, in clothes hanging loosely around her;
+she probably does not wear stays in the morning: her dress is white
+muslin, and her face, as well as those of her children, if she have
+any, is of a ghastly pale colour. This is universal in India.
+
+There is not much conversation at a first visit, so I soon rise and
+go to some person to whom I have a letter of introduction, when he
+at once volunteers to accompany me on the rest of my calls. These
+first visits are made by the gentleman only; his wife does not
+accompany him. In the course of a few days the gentlemen return
+the call, bringing their wives with them. Daughters are out of the
+question: beyond the age of six they are a genus unknown in India.
+They go to England at that age, come out again to India at eighteen,
+and probably marry in Calcutta, and settle at once some four or
+five months' journey from their parents, who have been so anxiously
+looking forward to seeing them.
+
+ [Sidenote: DINNER-PARTIES.]
+
+A few days after the form of calling has been gone through, some
+half-dozen different persons send you invitations to dinner, kindly
+wishing to welcome the stranger to the station. From half-past seven
+to eight is the usual hour in India; for if people dined earlier
+they would necessarily lose their evening drive. The carriage enters
+the compound; a servant runs in to the sahib, and, pressing his own
+hands together, says, "Ghairee ata" (carriage comes). Out issues the
+sahib into the front verandah: the lady is handed out; the gentleman
+offers his arm, and walks off, leaving me to follow as best I may.
+
+From the verandah we enter the dining-room. There are no halls or
+passages or cupboards in the Mofussil. Down the whole length of the
+room is a long table laid for dinner, round which we must wind to
+get to the opposite door leading into the drawing-room. Here are a
+number of ladies seated on one side the room, on the other side the
+gentlemen. After a little while an old Indian with a long silvery
+beard, and dressed completely in white, comes in, and, pressing his
+hands together, says, "Canna mig" (dinner on table).
+
+Then the master of the house gives his arm to the most important
+lady present; the others do likewise, according to the most strict
+precedence of rank, the lady of the house being taken first. She does
+not take the top of the table, but assigns that place to whoever has
+led her in, herself occupying the seat next him on his right hand.
+Each person brings his khitmutgar; accordingly, behind each chair
+stands a man in white, who, as you sit down, unfolds and hands you
+the napkin which was on your plate; he then falls back a step, and
+crosses his arms over his chest. As soon as grace has been said, the
+cover is taken off the soup-tureen, and those who like it are helped
+to a rich sort of chicken-broth.
+
+After that, you hear on every side--"Mrs. So-and-so, may I have
+the pleasure of taking a glass of wine with you?" "I shall be very
+happy." "Which do you take, beer or wine?" "Thank you; I will take a
+little beer," or "wine," as the case may be. Suppose the former, and
+myself the speaker, I turn round and say to my khitmutgar, "Beer,
+shraubs meem Sahib, ki do" (beer-wine, Mrs. Lady, give).
+
+In the mean time they are uncovering the dishes. At the top is a
+pair of fine roast fowls, at the bottom a pair of boiled ditto. At
+the sides, fowl cutlets, fowl patties, fowl rissoles, stewed fowls,
+grilled fowl, chicken-pie, &c. &c. No ham, no bacon, and little tiny
+potatoes not larger than a cherry, with stewed cucumbers, and some
+sticky Indian vegetables, are handed round. But for the second course
+a great treat is reserved. Six or seven mutton-chops, each equal
+to one mouthful, are brought in, and with much ceremony placed at
+the top of the table; at the other end are slices of potatoes fried.
+Your hostess tells you how glad she was that Mr. So-and-so had sent
+her the loin of a Patna sheep to-day: she hoped we should like it.
+Then comes curried fowl and rice; then pine-apple pie, custard,
+jelly, plantain, oranges, pine-apples, &c. &c.; but directly these
+sweets appear, there appear also, behind the chairs of many of the
+gentlemen, servants carrying a little carpet, with a neat fringe to
+it. These they place at the back of their masters' chairs, on the
+floor, and then each servant brings in a large hookah, places it on
+the little carpet, and, whilst the ladies and others are eating the
+custards, pies, and fruits, you have all around you the incessant
+bubble from the hookah, and smell the filthy smoke from an abominable
+compound of tobacco and various noxious drugs.
+
+The ladies rarely sit for above one glass of wine, when they retire
+and leave the smokers to themselves. Cigars are then produced for the
+use of the other gentlemen; and, after they have all smoked and drunk
+a little more wine than enough, they join the ladies. Then there is a
+little general talking, then a little music: then come cards--I never
+play--and then the good-byes, and so home to bed--a nightmare during
+one's sleep, and a headache in the morning! When alone, we always
+dine at four.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, August 29, 1843.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: OURANG-OUTANG.]
+
+I had been sitting in the verandah reading, and went away for a few
+minutes to speak to my wife. When I came back my chair was occupied.
+There, sitting as quietly and demurely as possible, was an enormous
+ourang-outang, or monkey of some sort. When I first caught sight of
+him he had my book in his hands, and was to all appearance reading.
+It happened, however, to be rather a stupid book, and he very soon
+threw it down; he then placed his hands upon his knees and sat
+perfectly still, just as if he had been meditating on what he had
+been reading. I should say, as nearly as I could judge, that he must
+have been above five feet in height, supposing him to stand erect. He
+sat as upright as any man.
+
+After watching him for a minute or two, and observing that the calves
+of his legs were thicker and more like those of a man than monkeys'
+legs usually are, I stepped quietly back and called my wife. All
+this time I had not seen his face; however, as she came, one of the
+parrots screamed, and the old gentleman turned his head. His face
+was very dark, with large whiskers and beard, and hair all perfectly
+white; his body a light-brown, and his face and hands peculiarly
+large. As soon as he saw me he half rose, laid both hands on the
+elbow of the chair, and began to grin and show his teeth and spit at
+me. I did not quite like it, as I was afraid he might make a spring
+in my direction; yet I knew that my voice would at once frighten him
+away, if I raised the horrid unearthly yell used by the natives to
+scare wild beasts, and which even the tiger will hardly resist unless
+much pressed by hunger.
+
+Still I felt more inclined to watch him. Once I thought of going
+round the other way and getting my gun, but really he looked so much
+like a man that I could not have shot him. He continued to grin and
+spit until I turned away, hoping he would resume his former sedate
+position. As soon, however, as he thought my eye was off him he rose
+leisurely from his chair, stepped slowly out of the verandah, caught
+hold of a branch of the banian-tree, and swung himself up into it.
+As he did this I saw that he had a long tail, so he could not, I
+believe, have been an ourang-outang. Indeed I never heard of them
+coming into this little island, nor, I think, into the district. I
+went into my study, and immediately afterwards heard him scuttling
+away over the roof of the house. I have not seen him since, but if he
+comes back I shall try to make friends with him by giving him food,
+though I believe he belongs to rather a treacherous family.
+
+Whilst on this subject, I will mention another monkey which I saw a
+few days ago. It is almost two feet in height, quite black, except
+a circle of light-brown hair round its face, and is held in high
+veneration by the natives. They come chiefly from a place up the
+country called Brinderbund, where it is said there are nothing but
+Brahmins and monkeys.
+
+I was once driving with a friend when we met a party of pilgrims,
+who had two or three monkeys with them. We stopped and spoke to the
+people, and one of the monkeys came into the carriage and perched
+himself on my lap. I offered the people two rupees for him, but they
+said they were going to take the two to Juggernat'h, where the Rajah
+would buy them. I asked how much they would take for them; they said
+fifty rupees for the pair. This I could not afford, and I told them
+so; they then said I might have them both for twenty-five rupees.
+This, however, was more than I could give, and we therefore drove on,
+though I was very unwilling to part with the little fellows, that
+seemed to have taken quite a fancy to me.
+
+The manner of reception at the judge's is much the same as I
+described in my last; but here there are, however, two or three
+different additional servants, who with long chouries keep flapping
+the insects off the table and the faces of the company. Here is also
+plenty of mutton; and cheese from England. All the side dishes are of
+silver.
+
+In the drawing-room most of the tables are marble. From the ceiling
+is suspended a number of small plated chandeliers with glass drops;
+in another room is a good piano-forte, and after dinner some very
+tolerable music and singing. There is also a little rational
+conversation.
+
+ [Sidenote: A BACHELOR'S PARTY.]
+
+But now let me describe a bachelor's party at the commissioner's,
+who, by the way, is above the judge in rank and in salary. I say a
+bachelor's party, because his wife is gone to England for her health,
+and he cannot therefore invite ladies. Before dinner there is much
+general conversation about races, church-building, hunting, the
+paucity of chaplains, &c. &c. Some magnificent prints are brought
+forward; a set of splendid silver medallions of sacred history
+are examined and admired; some ancient coins and inscriptions are
+submitted to the inspection of the unlearned; the last English
+reviews are brought under discussion.
+
+In the mean time the gentlemen are lounging upon ottomans about a
+large marble table, the host going from one to another, speaking to
+and trying to please all. To the sportsman he speaks of his gun, to
+the chaplain of a project of building a new church, to the engineer
+of the aërial steam-ship, and, in short, makes every one pleased both
+with himself and his neighbours. I need hardly tell you that our
+commissioner at Cuttack is a most agreeable man; his great object
+is to make others happy, and his kind good-natured face is welcome
+everywhere. He is about thirty-six years of age, fond of sporting,
+fond of reading, fond of children--although he has none himself.
+Every one likes him, from the judge to the faquer, from the highest
+to the lowest--unless, indeed, the lawless, and those he does not
+spare. He has the grand tact of rendering himself agreeable to
+everybody, and the means by which he does this is the exercise of a
+kind heart. He does not obtrude his concerns, but listens patiently
+and with interest to the remarks of others; and this, remember, with
+cheerfulness and pure morality, is the means by which any person may
+make himself beloved.
+
+But to return: the conversation turns upon church music.
+
+"You have an organ, Commissioner, have you not?" says one.
+
+"Yes, but I very seldom use it."
+
+"You should send it to the church," said I.
+
+"Well, I have sometimes thought I would, but I am afraid you have no
+place for it; and, besides, I don't know whether the tunes would do."
+
+"Let us judge of that," says the magistrate; "give us a tune whilst
+they are putting the dinner on the table."
+
+"Very well; and I am sure, if the padre likes it, he is very welcome
+to have it till Mrs. M. comes back."
+
+Thereupon we adjourned to an adjoining room, where there was a very
+large upright organ, but, as Mr. M. said, "only a grinder." He puts
+in the church barrel, and, turning the handle, plays, one after
+another, several really beautiful psalm-tunes, whilst every one
+stands serious and attentive. At last dinner is announced. The style
+is much the same as at the judge's, except that almost all the dishes
+are silver, and there is a magnificent racing-cup of the same metal
+in the centre. The eatables, however, are many of them English.
+There is fresh salmon brought from England, English soups, English
+potatoes, carrots, oysters, cheese, &c. &c., all brought out in
+canisters hermetically sealed.
+
+Of course, as everywhere else, the beer, wines, &c., are from
+England, for so devoid are we of any trading community, that in this
+splendid climate no attempt has ever yet been made to manufacture
+wine. Beer we could not make, at least so they say, for want of
+barley;[4] but I believe that pine-apples, of which we get three or
+four young juicy ones for a penny, would make splendid wine. England
+has no pine-apples at all like ours. Then there are preserves and
+pies made of green-gages, apricots, &c., all from home. Here also, as
+at the judge's, there is abundance of champagne, or, as we call it
+here, tokay. After dinner, at all houses, each person takes a small
+glass of liqueur.
+
+At the commissioner's, being a bachelor's party, we remained in the
+dining-room. Cigars were introduced, with coffee and brandy-and-water
+for those who liked it. I will now relate an anecdote I heard there:--
+
+ [Sidenote: A TIGER-STORY.]
+
+"Why, B.," said Mr. M., "I heard you had an adventure yesterday. What
+was it?"
+
+"Oh! don't ask me; it makes me almost sick to think of it."
+
+"Oh, nonsense!" from all present.
+
+"Well, if I must, here goes." Then drinking off a glass of wine B.
+began: "I suppose I must make a regular history of it, so I will
+commence at the beginning. Last evening, in the bright and balmy,
+or I should say gorgeous, splendour of an oriental sunset, when the
+brilliant tints of--"
+
+"Bah! B., don't be too absurd," cried some of us; "tell us what it
+was without all this brilliant balmy nonsense."
+
+"Why, I thought I was poetical; but I see you have no poetry in
+your souls; so I will condescend to prose. I was obliged yesterday
+afternoon to go down the river for a short distance; I had a boat and
+three natives. When I had completed what I wanted I returned, and was
+paddling along, not far from the bank, just on this side of those
+enormous blocks of iron rock which keep the river from overflowing,
+and form such a splendid monument of the great mechanical powers of
+the ancient Hindus--"
+
+"Come, never mind the antiquities; we will have them another time.
+Let us hear your own adventures now."
+
+"Well, I had just rounded this point when one of my men called out
+most vehemently, 'Look, sir, look; there is a tiger!' My eyes were
+instantly turned in the direction towards which he pointed, and there
+I saw a most fearful sight. A man was tearing, springing, bounding
+towards the river, and a hundred yards behind him followed a large
+panther, pursuing him with those rapid leaps for which that animal is
+so famous. I instantly ordered my people to pull towards the shore,
+in the hope of rescuing the panting wretch who thus struggled for his
+life. Before we reached the bank the man had made a bound into the
+water, and stood immersed up to his neck. I suppose he was too much
+exhausted to swim, for we could hardly hear his voice as he called to
+us to make haste.
+
+"At this instant I saw the dark blunt snout of an enormous alligator
+rising slowly above the surface, as he made his way towards his
+intended victim. I shouted to the man, 'Crocodile! crocodile!' He
+heard me, hesitated an instant, then rushed back to the bank. This
+sudden movement disconcerted the panther, who started back a few
+paces, and the next moment our boat shot within reach. 'Come hither,'
+I exclaimed. The man made a spring; the panther leaped forward, and,
+as I seized the former by the arm, the latter seized him by the leg.
+
+"Oh! the shriek of the poor victim! I shall never forget it.
+Foolishly I had not brought my rifle, but I shouted to the men to
+strike the beast with their oars. No; the cowardly wretches shrank
+down in the farther end of the boat, and would not move. I could do
+nothing, therefore, but pull at the man's shoulder, whilst his horrid
+shrieks were ringing in my ears. Had I let go, the panther would
+instantly have carried him off; had there been another European with
+me, the man might have been saved.
+
+"This takes long to describe, but it was all the work of a few
+seconds. Presently I felt that I was drawing the man more towards
+me; I looked, and saw the flesh of the leg peeling off in the jaws
+of the panther until it came to the ankle, where, with one crunch,
+the bone was severed, and the beast galloped off with the fearful
+mouthful. I now drew the man, who by this time was quite senseless,
+into the boat. I tied my handkerchief tightly round the upper part
+of his leg, and with a piece of wood formed a sort of tourniquet. We
+brought him to Cuttack, and sent him at once to the hospital; but he
+died in the course of a few hours."
+
+"What a horrible affair!" exclaimed several voices.
+
+ [Sidenote: POWER OF THE HUMAN EYE.]
+
+"But I thought," said I, "that the voice, or even the eye, of man was
+sufficient to make any beast quail."
+
+"So it is, provided they are neither very hungry nor very much
+excited. This beast had been engaged in a long chase, and nothing
+could have frightened him from his prey."
+
+"Ah! of course that would have made a difference," I replied; "but
+Mr. L. had a little adventure the other day which seems to prove the
+power of the eye of man."
+
+"Oh! there is no doubt that man is master of all, and I believe many
+natives have been preserved by the power of the human eye, and many
+more might be saved if they only had the coolness to exercise the
+power which has been bestowed upon them. But what was the adventure
+of L.'s?"
+
+"It was nothing very wonderful or exciting. He was staying at Chugga
+for a few days; and one morning he went out with his gun, accompanied
+by a native Christian of the name of Perswa. Whilst they were in the
+jungle they suddenly heard a distant shout, as of some one calling
+'Perswa, Perswa!' They sat down and bent their ears to the ground to
+listen. Presently the cry was repeated, 'Perswa, Perswa!' Again it
+was renewed, 'Perswa, Perswa!' 'It is a tiger,' cried his follower.
+They immediately hastened back to the village, but found no one there
+but four old women, who told them that one of their people was hurt
+by a tiger. Mr. L. started instantly to his rescue, and as he left
+the village he was joined by at least fifty men, who in their fear
+were hiding, but, being now encouraged by the presence of a white
+man, sallied forth with him. Following the direction of the cries of
+the poor wretch, they soon came to the spot where he stood facing a
+large tiger.
+
+"It seems that the man, whilst in the jungle, had suddenly caught
+sight of it on the very point of springing upon him. With great
+presence of mind he stood perfectly still, and fixed his eyes
+steadily on the monstrous brute. The tiger wavered for an instant,
+then, quailing before his eye, he slunk behind a bush. Still the man
+kept his eye upon him, whilst the tiger every minute peered forth to
+see whether that dreaded eye was withdrawn.
+
+"From bush to bush the tiger moved, as if seeking to avoid the gaze,
+in order that he might spring out to seize his prey. Slowly the man
+turned from side to side, still facing his dreaded foe, and calling
+upon Perswa and the Padre Sahib to come and save him; and this he
+continued till the party came up, who by their shouts forced the
+tiger to abandon his intended meal. Now this seems a strong instance
+of the power of the human eye."
+
+"It does indeed," replied F. "I have known it exercised with equal
+success in another case. A young officer was walking through the
+jungle; he foolishly had nothing but his pistols with him. Suddenly
+he heard a noise, and observed the branches shaking near him; he
+crept forward on his hands and knees, to see what animal was there.
+Presently he found himself face to face with a huge bull bison. He
+started to his feet, drew a pistol from his belt, and fixed his eye
+upon that of the animal. The bison tore the turf with his teeth and
+horns, stamping furiously, but yet he dared not charge while the
+human eye was fixed on his. Presently the beast appeared to become
+uneasy, moved his enormous shaggy head from side to side, and at last
+slunk off to join the herd that were feeding in the distance; and so
+my friend was saved by his own presence of mind and the power of the
+human eye."
+
+ [Sidenote: BATS.]
+
+But we have been long enough at the commissioner's dinner-table; so
+let us go home and to bed. It is ten o'clock, and for the people
+in the Mofussil that is a very late hour. I have told you what a
+nuisance the mosquitoes are, and also the white ants. There is
+another creature from which you are comparatively free in England,
+and that is the bat. Numbers of all sizes make their nests up above
+the chats or ceiling-cloths in the bungalows, some not bigger than
+the humming-bird, others, as I have told you, so large as to deserve
+the name of flying foxes. Often at night they come into the rooms.
+One evening, when my wife was going to bed, she found five large bats
+wheeling round and round in her dressing-room.
+
+On such occasions as this I post myself in one corner of the room,
+and my chokedar or watchman in another, both armed with long sticks,
+with which we keep hitting at the bats until we knock them down, and
+then we throw them out of doors. Often, as they whirl round the room,
+one will hit himself against the punkah, and fall to the ground.
+Instantly the mungoose springs upon him, and we hear the bones
+crushing in his jaws.
+
+One night I was suddenly awakened by something moving and scratching
+about my head; I raised my hand, and found a large bat clinging to my
+hair; dreading a snake, I had started up--there was a weight upon my
+head. I dashed him off, and soon went to sleep again; but he appeared
+to have taken a fancy to me, and I was again awakened in the same
+manner; this time, therefore, I got out of bed, knocked the animal
+down, and killed him. I have several times been roused at night by a
+great cockroach, three or four inches long, crawling over my lace.
+The other evening a flight of large maulises came into the parlour,
+and soon drove us to bed. I have two cobras, which were both killed
+in my own house; also a tarantula, which I caught in my dressing-room.
+
+To turn to another subject. I have been endeavouring to render
+society here more friendly and agreeable than it can be at large
+formal dinner-parties, and I am happy to say it has been followed
+by some of the most influential, and I trust that the custom may
+become general. The plan is to invite about eight, and those all
+friendly and intimate, to a quiet dinner at four o'clock. By the time
+this is over the sun is getting low; and, instead of sitting for a
+couple of hours over the wine, we soon follow the ladies into the
+drawing-room. The carriages come to the door for those who like a
+drive. Some stroll into the wood with their guns; some talk; and so
+the time passes for about an hour, when the sudden darkness falls
+upon us almost without warning. We all reassemble at seven for tea
+and coffee; then spend a pleasant chatty hour or two, or disperse at
+about half-past nine, having had more amusement than can be enjoyed
+at a mere dinner-party.
+
+We are making rather a large flower-garden between the house and the
+river. The wages to a good gardener are about two pence a-day--to a
+coolie, or labourer, a penny three farthings. My mollee, or gardener,
+is a very good one; but I must explain what we mean by a good
+gardener. It signifies neither more nor less than a good thief. I
+plan my garden and lay it out, showing the man where the paths are to
+be, where the beds, and where the lawns. Within a few days after it
+is laid out I expect to find it tolerably full of flowers and shrubs.
+Where they come from I do not know: you cannot purchase any such
+things here. Of course, then, everything must come from the gardens
+of my neighbours. In England this would be considered, and would in
+fact be, a very dishonest mode of proceeding; but in India it is the
+custom.
+
+The mollees have the charge of the gardens, and they mutually supply
+one another. If after a time I should have anything very choice in my
+garden, my mollee would give cuttings or small plants of it to any of
+the other mollees who wished for them, and thus every garden would
+be improved. A person must be very churlish indeed to interfere with
+this system of general accommodation, which in the end is equally
+advantageous to all. The system, however, is liable to abuse, and
+therefore I do not think I altogether approve of it myself. I was
+once dining with a young officer, and we had some remarkably fine
+peas. After praising them, I observed that I did not know he had a
+garden. "Why, no," he replied, laughing; "but I keep a very good
+gardener." Now this was decidedly most unjust. This young man would
+not be at the trouble or expense of a garden himself, but chose to
+take an unfair advantage of the industry and liberality of others. I
+was not at all surprised to hear, shortly afterwards, that a court
+of inquiry had been sitting to examine into the circumstances of a
+most dishonourable action which he had committed, and for which, if
+it had not been for the leniency of his commanding officer, he would
+most probably have been cashiered.
+
+ [Sidenote: CRUEL TREATMENT OF SERVANTS.]
+
+I think I have told you how cruelly some of the people here beat
+their servants. I was standing with an officer in the porch of his
+house when I was last at Midnapore, when his syce, or groom, brought
+his horse to the door. Captain L. turned to me, and said, "I have
+not given that fellow a thrashing for a long time, and he'll forget
+what it feels like, and grow lazy." Now the fact was, the man was
+so attentive and industrious that Captain L. could not possibly
+find any fault with him. However, he went down the steps, and, on
+the pretence that the man did not hold his horse properly, gave him
+several violent blows on the face and head, kicked him three or four
+times with all his force, and struck him on the back with a two-foot
+rule with such violence that the man was obliged to have his back
+plastered and bandaged up: and all this without the slightest fault
+on the part of the servant.
+
+Much as has been said about slavery, I do not believe that any of
+the slaves in Jamaica were ever worse treated than are the servants
+of some of our officers here. The excuse is, that it is impossible
+to manage the Hindus without the whip; but I never use it, and I am
+certainly quite as well served by all, excepting two. With these I
+am going to part, for they have been spoiled by living with a very
+violent man. I will give you an instance of the punishments I employ.
+
+My sirdar always goes home to his supper at nine o'clock. The other
+evening, after he was gone, I found that he had neglected to get the
+night-lamp ready, so I was obliged to do it myself. The following
+morning, instead of thrashing him, I made no observation whatever on
+the subject; but at nine o'clock in the evening, when he came to ask
+whether he might go home, I said, "You did not bring the night-lamp
+last night; I may want something else that is not ready, so for the
+next week you will not go till eleven." This was a great punishment
+to him, and yet it did not degrade either the man or myself as a
+beating would do. At the same time I fully admit that the natives,
+by their slowness and inactivity, are sometimes very provoking; but
+surely that is no excuse to the Christian who gives way to angry
+feelings.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[4] Plenty of barley is grown in Bhootan.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, October 12, 1843.
+
+
+I returned to Cuttack yesterday from Midnapore. It was a most
+wretched journey, raining incessantly--not such mild gentle rain as
+you have in England, but regular blinding torrents. The roads were so
+desperately bad that, although I engaged two extra bearers at each
+stage, yet each day's journey of fifty miles took me twenty-four
+hours instead of fifteen. My last day's journey was from Barrapore to
+Cuttack--fifty miles. I started at two in the afternoon, and arrived
+at home at half-past two the next day.
+
+About eight o'clock in the evening the rain came down almost in one
+sheet of water: the men could hardly stagger along with their burden.
+The rain was driven by the furious gusts of wind violently against
+the doors of the palanquin, but they were closed and bolted. I was
+smoking a cigar, and thinking about dear England, when suddenly
+it struck me that it was becoming very cold. I wondered at it, so
+closely shut up as the palanquin was. Still it became colder and
+colder. I was lying on my back. I laid my hand on my face--it was
+quite warm. I touched my chest--it was warm also. Suddenly I jumped
+up--it was only the side of me underneath that was cold. My trowsers,
+shirt, flannel waistcoat, &c., were all soaking. The rain had found
+its way in at the crevice between the doors, and formed a little
+puddle just where I was lying.
+
+A severe cold is a very dangerous thing in this country, often
+bringing on jungle-fever. I first stripped off my wet clothes, then
+sopped up the puddle as well as I could, and stopped the leak. I then
+wrapped myself up in a warm blanket. After these preliminaries I got
+out of my canteen a small spirit-lamp and kettle, then hung them to
+the top of the palanquin, struck a light, and boiled some water. This
+I poured into a tumbler, and, adding a little brandy and a little
+essence of ginger, drank it off, and then composed myself to sleep. I
+dozed a little; awoke again; tried to go to sleep; could not; changed
+horses--I mean men; on again; the blanket wet through; moved the
+blanket so as to have a dry part next me; soon wet through again. At
+last the blanket was soaking; felt my clothes, which I had hung up
+to dry; still very wet, but they nevertheless seemed better than the
+soppy blanket, so I dressed again.
+
+I dared not call the man for my patarahs, or tin boxes, and get out
+fresh things, for they would have been drenched in an instant. So I
+dressed in the wet ones; stuffed the blanket up against the leak;
+lighted another cigar, and puffed away until the palanquin was quite
+filled with smoke. This created additional warmth, helped to dry my
+clothes, and by its effects upon myself I have no doubt assisted in
+keeping off fever.
+
+ [Sidenote: DESCRIPTION OF A PALANQUIN.]
+
+But as I live so much in my palanquin, I think I had better give
+a more accurate description of it than I have done. It is made of
+wood, painted as an English carriage, and having arms, crest, &c.,
+if you choose. The top is covered with a white cement to prevent its
+leaking, and is slightly curved, so that the rain may run off. The
+bottom is open wicker-work, on which is laid a mattress and other
+cushions, covered generally with thin leather. The sides, top, &c.,
+are lined, often with crimson silk. I have had my mattress and other
+cushions covered with white drill; it is much more serviceable,
+and will wash: my lining is of the same. The interior length of
+my palanquin is six feet six inches, the breadth three feet three
+inches, and of the same height.
+
+The wicker-work of the bottom extends from the head to within one
+foot three inches of the foot; then instead of wicker-work is a
+wooden box, which in mine is covered with part of a leopard's skin.
+In it I carry a few bottles of soda-water and beer and a bottle of
+water. Over my feet, resting on brackets, is a box, an invention of
+my own, which I find most useful. It is three feet long, one foot and
+a quarter broad, and one foot high. In this I keep a great variety
+of things that I may need.
+
+Whenever I halt I have nothing to do but lift this box out, and there
+is all my apparatus on the table. Most people have only a shelf, on
+which they place their medicine-chest, dressing-case, pistols, &c.;
+but I found this so inconvenient, that I resolved to have the whole
+in one moveable box, and I find it a great additional comfort. In the
+lining of the palanquin are pockets for books, &c., and stuck here
+and there are hooks, on which to hang a watch, &c.
+
+I have pillows especially for my palanquin. I take a blanket and a
+few books, and then I can start in tolerable comfort for a four or
+five days' journey. There is a place outside behind for a large brass
+washhand-basin; in front there are two little windows, like those
+of a carriage, with glass and Venetian blinds; behind there is one
+window, and also a lamp with a glass in the back of the palanquin, so
+as to show its light inside.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, November 8, 1843.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: ANECDOTES OF TIGERS.]
+
+I have just been called out to see an enormous Bengal tiger which
+some native huntsmen shot last night. It has been long prowling about
+between Cuttack and Chogga, and has carried off many unfortunate men.
+A party of us intended to go out and look for him next week. He was
+wounded first by a shot in the shoulder; the second ball went through
+his eye and killed him at once. It was a magnificent beast.
+
+On the 9th a large leopard was brought in, and also a wild boar. The
+latter animal is excessively savage and very dangerous. The usual
+mode of hunting is on horseback, armed with long lances or spears.
+His strength is very great; he is much larger and longer than the
+English pig. When enraged his back becomes as much curved as that of
+the hyæna; indeed, it is a good deal so at all times. From the top of
+the head to the tail extends a thick mane of bristles, not hanging
+down like a horse's mane, but standing perfectly upright. I have a
+young one now in a sty, but the men are obliged to throw his food to
+him, as he flies at them directly they go within reach. The tusks of
+the wild boar grow to several inches in length. A friend of mine was
+out one day when a boar charged his horse; the brute made a spring
+at its hinder parts, cutting right and left, and both the hind legs
+of the steed were severed to the bone, and his master was obliged to
+dismount and shoot him.
+
+This reminds me of another anecdote. Miss D., the sister of the
+doctor at Balasore, was out riding a short time since; a gentleman of
+her acquaintance was with her. They were moving slowly along, when
+suddenly they heard a crackling of the branches by the roadside,
+and the next instant an enormous tiger sprang into the middle of
+the lane, just in front of them. The horses appeared paralysed;
+they could not move, but stood trembling in every joint. The tiger
+turned round, glared upon them, opened his mouth wide, and gave that
+horrible ya a-a-a, then made a spring, bounded into the jungle on the
+other side, and disappeared.
+
+The tiger which they brought in the other day measured ten feet six
+inches in length, and one foot two inches round his ankle. This
+species possesses enormous strength; a single blow from his paw is
+sufficient to crush a man's skull into one frightful mass.
+
+The adjutant of the 8th Bengal Native Regiment told me of a case
+which he had seen. A tiger seized a large English bullock, tossed it
+over his shoulders, and then sprang at one bound over a fence several
+feet in height: so you may easily imagine that a wild tiger is not a
+very pleasant companion.
+
+We had a sad loss the night before last. I have already mentioned
+our beautiful little antelope, which used to come and lie at my feet
+while I was writing. The other night I heard him give a faint scream,
+and hastened to see what was the matter; he had been bitten by a
+cobra, and was dead in ten minutes. Poor little fellow! I could have
+cried,--my wife _did_. I have seen many, but never knew one so tame
+before. I doubt whether any of the servants had dry eyes as its body
+was thrown into the river. The bite of the cobra causes the body to
+swell to a frightful size.
+
+The other day my wife was walking in the garden, when a large cobra
+glided past her; she called some of the men, who soon killed it, but
+it was too large to put into a bottle. A gentleman, happening to call
+just then, asked me whether I had seen the poison. I said, "No." He
+took the head between his fingers and squeezed it in such a way as
+to open the mouth. In the upper jaw were two very large white fangs,
+corresponding as it were to our eye-teeth. As he squeezed with more
+force, a tiny drop of perfectly transparent colourless fluid issued
+through the point of each fang--these were drops of venom that pass
+into the wound. The gentleman who showed me this was a medical man,
+and he said that he would not for a lac of rupees have the half of
+one of those drops get into a cut in his finger.
+
+Last June, when the weather was intensely hot, after we left Pooree,
+where we had resided for six weeks with Mr. and Mrs. B., I went to
+Chandapore, a delightful place on the sea-coast, about seven miles
+from Balasore. The thermometer was 105° in-doors at six o'clock in
+the evening. When I started from Cuttack the thermometer in my palkee
+stood at 126°. At Chandapore I was glad to put on a cloth coat and
+cloth trowsers. That is one great advantage in my station; I have
+almost every variety of climate, except extreme cold. Indeed, when
+the bishop asked me how I liked my station, I told him I would not
+change with any chaplain in India.
+
+At Chandapore four of us one morning started for a walk over the
+sands. We took no shoes nor stockings, and had our trowsers tucked
+up to the knees. How we did laugh at eyeing ourselves! we were like
+a set of merry boys. Every now and then one of us would step upon a
+quicksand and sink down half up his legs, and have to scramble out.
+Then, as we ran along in the water about six or eight inches deep,
+we would suddenly see two or three sea-scorpions, and run away, or
+perhaps slip or stumble over a piece of rock, and then down we came,
+and all roared with laughter, and then the magistrate sang out,--
+
+ "There was an old man at Barbago,
+ He lived upon nothing but sago;--
+ Oh! how he did jump,
+ When a doctor said, plump,
+ 'To a roast leg of mutton you may go.'"
+
+ [Sidenote: SEA-SCORPIONS.]
+
+I caught a couple of the sea-scorpions; they do not sting, but cut
+with the edge of their tails, and it is said that the wound is
+incurable. They are covered with a hard shell.
+
+ [Sidenote: RELIEF FUND.]
+
+There is a great deal of illness about now, although the weather is
+most delightful: the thermometer seldom above 80°; the morning quite
+chilly. I am very well; the only complaint I have is that of getting
+exceedingly fat. I think I have mentioned our relief fund. There are
+a number of poor Christians here who have lived by beggary, stealing,
+and all sorts of wretchedness. We are trying to induce them to work,
+and give them materials, and purchase at a high rate what they
+produce, and I quite hope our plan will succeed.
+
+You would have laughed to have seen me to-day, surrounded by a crowd
+of half-black women, measuring out prints and calicoes for dresses,
+&c.; I being obliged to do it, as my wife was poorly. The things they
+make are to be given, as rewards, in our new Christian school.
+
+
+
+
+Barripore, November 28, 1843.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: SOLITUDE.]
+
+How extraordinary does this utter solitude appear! I have just been
+outside the bungalow: there is none of that confused murmuring sound
+which is almost universal in England. Every noise is distinctly
+heard: a child's voice, or a dove's coo, appears to break the
+intensity of the silence. And then, the thought that, excepting a
+few barbarians, there is not a human being within a day's journey!
+The whole feeling is exciting, but oppressive. Millions of black
+heathens interpose between me and a single European; and yet, with
+one brace of pistols and a good thick stick, I feel myself perfectly
+secure. But I will give an instance of the power which each European
+possesses over these people.
+
+When I went to Balasore with the L.'s, we had four palanquins, and
+consequently forty bearers. At one place, where we stopped to change
+men, Mrs. L. sent a man to my palanquin to say that she wanted to
+speak to me. I at once walked across to the spot where her palanquin
+stood. The night was as dark as pitch, with a nasty drizzling rain.
+The red flaming torches disclosed a group of from eighty to a hundred
+natives, with their long black hair and immense mustachios, naked,
+except a cloth round their loins.
+
+As we changed bearers here, there was of course a double set present.
+We had four palanquins--one containing a native nurse and three of
+Captain L.'s children; another, Captain L. and one child; another,
+Mrs. L.; and the fourth was my own. On one side of the road was a
+dense thicket, or jungle; on the other, a deep canal, called by
+the natives a "nullah;" and these, as well as the dusky group,
+were flittingly lighted by the torches of the mussalchees. Every
+man, as is the custom, had a long stick in his hand. We were many
+hours' journey from any European; Captain L. was totally enfeebled
+by sickness; and, in short, I was the only person who could have
+attempted to knock a man down.
+
+ [Sidenote: SOCIAL RELATION OF EUROPEANS AND NATIVES.]
+
+But mark the power of white skin (not but that mine is getting
+somewhat mahogany colour): when I bent down to learn what Mrs. L.
+wanted, she was too faint and weak to speak loud, and the abominable
+babbling of the hundred men about us prevented the possibility of my
+hearing what she said.
+
+"Choop ruho!" (keep quiet) I called out, but to no effect. "Choop
+ruho!" I bawled, but still to no avail; I could not hear what Mrs.
+L. said. Suddenly I snatched the stick out of the hand of the man
+next me, just gave it a little flourish, and jumped into the middle
+of the crowd. "You want the whip, eh?" I shouted. "Choop ruho, will
+you?" (for a word or two of English generally slips in either at
+the beginning or the end of a hasty sentence). In one instant there
+was a dead silence: not a word of resistance, or even insolence.
+Mrs. L. was weak and faint, and it seemed she wanted a glass of
+wine-and-water; this detained us a little time, but as long as we
+remained there I found that, even if a whisper arose, the single
+word "Choop" was sufficient to quiet it directly.
+
+Now, some people may say, here is a long story about nothing, or
+rather about getting a glass of wine-and-water; but I wish you
+to observe everything that takes place. Now, the nullah and the
+jungles, and the torches and the palanquins, are no great wonders
+in themselves, but together they make a pretty picture, or rather a
+striking one; and so through life you will find that every half-dozen
+things that you observe will either form, or assist in forming, some
+picture in your minds, which will certainly prove amusing or useful,
+or both.
+
+Then, again, suppose I had told you that I desired the men to be
+quiet, and they obeyed me: that would have been much shorter, but it
+would not have led the mind on to any other train of thought; whereas
+the narrative, as I have related it, suggests many ideas which, if
+followed up, would fill whole pages; for instance--
+
+ 1st. Why did the men dread the whip, when they were equally well
+ armed?
+
+ 2nd. Are they accustomed to feel it?
+
+ 3rd. Are they generally oppressed, and in what way; and would a
+ native government be an advantage to them?
+
+ 4th. In what does that superiority consist which makes one hundred
+ Hindus afraid of one European?
+
+ 5th. What is civilization? What is the difference between _real_
+ civilization, and that knowledge of arts and sciences, of
+ railroads and balloons, which is commonly dignified with the name?
+ And also what is the connexion between real, true civilization and
+ religion?
+
+Here are a few out of numberless trains of thought and questions
+which might arise, and do naturally arise, from the little anecdote
+I have given. Now, suppose I had said, "At one stage Mrs. L. said
+something to me which I could not well make out on account of the
+noise the men made; however, I soon quieted them, and then found that
+she wanted some wine-and-water." That description would have given no
+idea of what actually took place, neither would it have afforded any
+subject for after consideration.
+
+It was bitterly cold last night. I had on cloak, trowsers, a flannel
+jacket next my skin, a thick coat buttoned up to my neck, a double
+blanket over me, and both doors of my palkee shut. Yet I awoke about
+four o'clock this morning shivering with the cold, and was glad to
+get out and have a good run of two or three miles, flapping my arms
+against my sides, to restore the warmth. Mrs. Acland has complained
+of the cold for the last two days, even at twelve o'clock at noon.
+The fact is, people here become so accustomed to intense heat that
+they often find the cold weather very trying, and the hot season is
+notoriously the most healthy part of the year, though I fancy it is
+now as warm as an English summer.
+
+Poor Mr. B., with whom we stayed while at Pooree, has had an attack
+of the terrible jungle-fever, and will, I fear, be obliged to
+return to England. A sick person, at least in my district, is quite
+a rarity: all the diseases are so rapid in their operation, that
+a week's illness is considered a long time. If it is violent, the
+patient generally dies in a few hours, or at most in two or three
+days; if slight, he is by that time convalescent, and generally
+proceeds at once either to the Cape of Good Hope or to England.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, December 10.
+
+
+I have been to Midnapore and back again. Whilst I was at Balasore
+information was brought in that one hundred and fifty or two hundred
+elephants had come down into the paddy-fields about twelve miles from
+Balasore, and that they were destroying the crops. Two or three of
+the Europeans there wanted to make up a party to go and attack them;
+I should very much like to have gone with them, but could not afford
+the time; so the proposition fell to the ground.
+
+It is dangerous sport, but very exciting. The elephant is
+invulnerable except at one point, and that is a small hollow in the
+middle of the forehead. I said invulnerable, but that is an improper
+word; I mean, that that little spot is the only point where you
+can hit him fatally. Fancy an enormous elephant charging at full
+speed down a narrow path, with dense jungle on either side, and the
+sportsman standing still till he comes almost close, and then aiming
+at the forehead. Suppose he misses the one little spot--the elephant
+seizes him with his trunk, dashes him to the ground, and then
+kneels upon and crushes him; that is to say, if it is a fierce male
+elephant. The tusks of a large one are worth fifty pounds.
+
+ [Sidenote: JUGGERNAT'H FESTIVAL.]
+
+The sight of the dead pilgrims by the roadside in this part of India
+is very dreadful; they go to Juggernat'h by hundreds, or rather by
+thousands. At the grand festival in June this year, when the car of
+Juggernat'h is dragged from the temple to his country house, there
+were present at least eighty thousand pilgrims from all parts of
+India, who each make large offerings to the idol, and during their
+stay are not allowed to eat any food but what has been prepared in
+the temple by the priests. Of course, for this food a most exorbitant
+price is charged, and at the same time it is of so inferior a quality
+that numbers died of cholera in consequence of eating it. Many of the
+pilgrims when they leave Pooree have not a pice left, and literally
+lie down and die of starvation by the roadside. The instant they are
+dead they are surrounded by jackals, dogs, and vultures, who quickly
+peel all the flesh from the bones: it is a horrid sight, but one
+which is too frequent to create surprise.
+
+To the support of this temple our Christian government pays 6000_l._
+a-year, whilst at other places it supports one, two, or more
+priests. Some will scarcely understand all the arguments by which
+this pernicious support of idolatry is defended. The principal
+reason given is, that, when we took possession of the country, we
+found a number of heathen temples, supported out of the produce of
+certain lands which were appropriated to their service; and that we,
+having taken possession of those lands, are bound to support the
+same temples by money derived from our own revenue. When the Roman
+Catholics conquered a country, their first object was to extirpate
+idolatry; when the Mohammedans waged war, they did it in order to
+destroy the idols of the heathens; but we encourage and protect all
+those wicked and evil superstitions.
+
+Terrible as is the sight of the mutilated bodies of the pilgrims, it
+is not to me half so shocking as their thanks when they are relieved.
+As I travel, some poor wretch, who has more the appearance of a
+skeleton than a human being, comes to the side of the palanquin,
+and cries in Hindustanee, "Oh, great king, have mercy! I have been
+to Juggernat'h, and I have no rice. I have not tasted food, O great
+king, for three days. Oh, great king, give me some cowries to buy
+some rice!" I give the man a pice or two, and then he exclaims,
+"May Juggernat'h bless you, O great being! May Juggernat'h make
+you prosperous!" This invocation of a blessing from an idol sounds
+most frightful. The horrors of the roadside scene I will not
+describe--they are too fearful.
+
+The above account reminds me of the exaggerated manner of expression
+in use among the Eastern nations. I will give another instance of
+it, premising that it is the usual style of language employed by the
+natives towards their European masters. At Midnapore, the other day,
+I wanted to call on the commanding officer; I accordingly got into
+a tanjore,--that is, the body of a gig, supported on two poles, and
+carried by men. As they took me up, I told them to go to the Colonel
+Sahib's; they spoke together for a few minutes, and then one of them
+said in Hindustanee, "O representative of God, your slaves do not
+know where the Colonel Sahib lives."
+
+"Well, do you know where the Salt-Agent Sahib lives?"
+
+"Yes, O representative of God."
+
+"Then take me there."
+
+I had turned away a domestic for being impertinent--a case of
+very rare occurrence amongst the natives. He was my own personal
+attendant, and an excellent servant, but I would not allow him to be
+insolent, and therefore discharged him at once. For weeks this man
+stood at the gate of my compound, ran for miles by the side of my
+palanquin when I went out in it, and, if he saw me walking, threw
+himself on the ground at full length before me, extending his hands
+clasped over his head, and then crept or rather glided on his stomach
+close to me, kissed my feet, placed them on his head, and, whilst the
+tears ran from his eyes, exclaimed in Hindustanee, "O great being! O
+representative of God, have pity on your slave! punish me, whip me,
+but let me be your slave, O great king!" One day he brought his two
+little boys with him, and made them also kneel at my feet. He was an
+old man with a long beard, and he rubbed it in the dust, and cried
+and sobbed. I looked at his sons, and thought of my own children,
+and, as I considered he had been sufficiently punished, I told him to
+get up and I would try him again. He raised himself on his knees, and
+kissed the hem of my garment.[5] He is now the most useful servant I
+have. He is a sheikh--Sheikh Ibrahim is his name, and he had served
+every one of my predecessors, the chaplains at Cuttack.
+
+ [Sidenote: NUMBER AND NAMES OF SERVANTS.]
+
+I do not know the names of all my servants, but I will mention a few.
+Ibrahim is my sirdar, or valet, and chief man; my bearer is Maqua
+(which, by the way, is a name in use amongst the Indians in North
+America); my water-carrier is Rangore; my watchman, or chokedar,
+Sieboo; my sweeper, Ramoo. These last four are allowed me and paid
+for by Government: I give them a trifle in addition to their regular
+pay. The cook, or bowachee, is Callipar; and the table-servant, or
+khitmutgar, is Pekhoo. We only keep one table-servant; every one
+else keeps two, and many four or five. My syce, or groom, is Saitor;
+I do not know the names of the coachman, grass-cutter, tailor, and
+carpenter, nor of my wife's woman-servant, or ayah, as she is called.
+I think these are all our domestics, except the dobee, or washerman,
+but I do not know his name.
+
+I believe every one in Bengal keeps more servants than I do. In the
+Madras presidency not nearly so many are required, as one there
+will do the work of three here. I do not know how it is in Bombay.
+I suppose it is on this account that in the Bengal presidency we
+receive higher pay than in the other parts of India. I said that I
+kept fewer than most people, but I certainly think I am better served
+than those who keep double the number, and I attribute it to this: I
+never beat my servants; I scold them, but do not strike them: and I
+believe that they exert themselves very much in order that they may
+remain with me on that account, for the cruelty practised by many
+towards their domestics is most shocking. Yet I firmly believe that I
+am better served, and, if I may use the expression, really loved, for
+that very reason.
+
+When a servant is ill it is usual to stop his wages entirely: this
+I think wrong, and I therefore only stop half, which is another
+inducement to them to exert themselves in order to remain with me. I
+will give an instance of the sort of exertion to which I allude. When
+I packed the last box for England, my carpenter was ill; my cook is a
+very handy sort of man, so I called him, and desired him to nail up
+the box; he did it without a moment's hesitation. Almost any other
+cook would rather have left his situation than have done what he did
+not consider his work.
+
+Again, I do not know any other person who can get one man to wait on
+both the sahib and the mem. My khitmutgar not only does this, but
+also cleans my gun, and sometimes goes out shooting with me; when he
+is thus engaged the cook supplies his place. These are the advantages
+of kindness.
+
+It is a common saying that the Hindus have no sense of gratitude,
+that they have not even a word to express that feeling in their
+language. I do not believe it, and will give you a case in point.
+When we are going to travel we pay the money for the bearers into the
+hands of the postmasters beforehand; he then orders the men to be
+ready at each stage, and he subsequently sends them their pay. At one
+stage, as I was going to Midnapore some time ago, the men complained
+to me that they had not received their money for many months. I
+questioned them, and, finding their story probable, I promised to
+speak to the postmaster, and also offered to carry a petition from
+them to him. This I did; there had been a fault somewhere, but not, I
+believe, with the postmaster. However, the poor men got their money.
+
+Since that time, whenever I go along the road, as soon as I come to
+that place a man calls out, "Here is the kind sahib that took our
+letter for us;" and although the stage is ten miles in length, yet
+they carry me over it in less time than it takes me to go a six-mile
+stage elsewhere. My palkee is a heavy one, but they literally run as
+fast as they can the whole way; and two additional men always go with
+them without asking for any pay. Is not this something like gratitude?
+
+ [Sidenote: HONESTY OF NATIVES.]
+
+They are said to be extremely dishonest--I mean the natives
+generally. This also I deny; although their treatment by individuals
+is enough to make them so; for on the part of Government the
+error--if any--lies in an excess of mildness and lenity. I would not
+hesitate, if it were necessary, to intrust a thousand rupees to a
+servant to take to Calcutta: that is for him a fifteen days' journey.
+Yet, if he chose, he might easily get beyond my reach; and such a
+sum would be sufficient to purchase an estate which would render
+himself and his descendants landed proprietors and gentlemen. I doubt
+whether you could say more than that for English honesty; although,
+of course, there may be exceptions here as well as there.
+
+After I left Jelasore the other day, I remembered that I had omitted
+to lock my patarahs or tin travelling-boxes. There were many valuable
+things in them, and when I reached the first stage they had not then
+come up; yet I proceeded day after-day for one hundred and fifty
+miles without the slightest uneasiness; and these patarahs, which
+had passed through the hands of sixteen men successively, all of the
+poorest class and each one alone, arrived at Cuttack in safety one
+day after myself. I should not have felt so easy had this occurred in
+England. But enough of this subject for the present.
+
+I was riding out with two friends a few days ago near Balasore, when
+we saw a cavalcade approaching, consisting of several armed men, some
+on horseback others on camels. We inquired who they were, and learned
+that it was the escort of Bheere Singh, who had been on a pilgrimage
+to Juggernat'h. We joined the Rajah and had a long gossip with him.
+
+The first salutation was a salaam on both sides, that is,--we
+bowed almost to the necks of our horses, pressing the palms of our
+right hands against our foreheads. The Rajah, being more polite,
+or having better command of his horse, salaamed with both hands.
+I shall describe the man, because, judging from the present state
+of his country, it is possible that he may hereafter figure in the
+history of India. He appeared about forty years of age, strongly
+built, but not very tall; large black whiskers, and the universal
+moustache, which however was smaller than usual. There was much
+fire and animation both in his eyes and gestures; I should say also
+that his look betrayed a cunning and intriguing spirit. He was
+evidently unwilling to say much concerning the disturbances which
+have recently taken place in his country, but was most anxious to
+hear our opinions. He said he had seen the burra lord (great lord),
+Ellenborough, as he came through Calcutta; and I wondered whether the
+real object of his journey might not have been to see and speak with
+the Governor-General rather than to perform his devotions at Pooree.
+
+But one thing struck me especially, and it is a thing highly to the
+credit of our Indian Government. Pointing to his retinue, he said,
+"This I very much admire. In my own country and all the native states
+(that is, states governed by native rajahs), if I were to go to
+sleep, I must set my guards round me with their arms in their hands,
+and I dare not ask a stranger to carry a thing for me lest he should
+run away with it. But directly I come into the Burra Beebee Company's
+territories" (the East India Company is called the Burra Beebee, or
+the great lady, by all the natives), "directly I come into their
+territories, although they are so vast, so immense, from sea to sea"
+(and he stretched forth his hands in every direction), "directly I
+come there, if I am weary, I can go to sleep under any tree by the
+roadside, and I can tell all my guards to go to sleep also. If I want
+anything carried, I can say to the stranger 'Carry it,' and I know it
+is safe. Oh! the Burra Beebee Company is a very good great king."
+
+And most assuredly it is so. Wherever we come we give sound laws, and
+the people find peace and comparative happiness. Under the native
+rajahs all is anarchy, bloodshed, and oppression. Would that the
+whole of India were under our sway, and that our Government would
+seek, by firm and decisive measures, to introduce the blessings of
+Christianity amongst the thousands and millions of their heathen
+subjects! I consider these few words of Bheere Singh to confer far
+more real honour on our Government than all their victories.
+
+ [Sidenote: A MEETING.]
+
+How little one knows in England of the pleasure of meeting with an
+acquaintance! The other night, as I was travelling and just dozing in
+my palanquin, I was roused by a loud voice--"Hulloh, Acland! what,
+is that you?" I was out of my palkee in an instant, and Mr. C., of
+Talacore, jumped out of his. What a break in the monotony of the
+road! and yet there was one great unpleasantness about it, and that
+was, we were obliged, after a few minutes' gossip, each to return to
+his own solitary palanquin. He produced some oranges; we sucked one
+or two, and then separated.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[5] This man continued most faithfully attached till his master's
+death, and was then inconsolable.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, December 25, 1843.
+
+
+Yesterday morning Captain W. sent to ask me whether I would go out
+into the jungle with him and try and get some hares. I did not feel
+much inclined, as my yearly supply of stores, such as wine, beer,
+candles, vinegar, &c. &c., had just arrived from Calcutta. However I
+thought that perhaps I should see something which might amuse me, so
+I went. At three we started on our ponies across the tedious sands
+to the river. The water we crossed in a boat, and then remounted and
+rode for some distance into the jungle: at last down we got. We had
+fourteen men with us to beat the jungle.
+
+ [Sidenote: CHOUDWAR.]
+
+We walked along through the wildest scenery, looking for hares, until
+we arrived at Choudwar--at least that I believe to be the name of
+the place I described once before, which I said reminded me much of
+the ancient Petra. There are several long deep ravines filled with
+dense jungle, the sides composed of perpendicular black rock, a sort
+of iron-stone, in some parts of which steps have been cut, and in
+other places great blocks are lying about irregularly, or forming the
+foundations of the houses of the ancient inhabitants.
+
+We had found no game of any sort except porcupines, which abound
+here. At last we came to a ravine of the shape of an acute triangle.
+The lower line was a perpendicular face of rock of perhaps forty feet
+in height, the other line was a steep slope, and all the hollow was
+filled with thick jungle. Captain W. and myself were standing about
+the middle of the lower line, and we ordered the men that were with
+us to go down and beat the bushes in the hollow.
+
+ [Sidenote: SPORTING.]
+
+As they went down I observed to Captain W. that I thought it looked
+a likely place for something rather larger than hares. He replied
+that the men said there were no wild beasts about here. He had
+hardly done speaking when we heard the most frightful snarling growl
+proceeding from the bushes down at the farther point of the angle.
+"A tiger!" screamed the men, and ran off in every direction as fast
+as they could. "Give us the guns with ball," shouted we; for those
+in our hands had only small shot, and the men behind us held our
+other guns. "It is a great hyæna!" shouted I, as with another growl
+an enormous one sneaked out of the bushes up the bank opposite to
+that on which we stood. Bang! went the Captain's gun and mine at the
+same time;--down fell the brute, up again, turned round, yelled, and
+screamed, inclined to make a rush at us. Bang! bang! again with the
+other barrels, and with a scream the animal bounded off on three
+legs, his hind thigh having been broken by one of our balls. "Powder!
+powder, quickly!" was the cry, and our men handed us the powder and
+balls: we reloaded as quickly as possible, our hands trembling with
+excitement.
+
+"Give chase!" I shouted, and off we set as hard as we could run
+towards the other bank, where the beast was still running, and
+turning every now and then to snarl at us. "Coolies, drive him
+hither!" cried Captain W., and on we bounded; but the coolies were
+not at all willing to obey the command, and so we had a long chase.
+"I'll fire; you mind him if he turns," exclaimed W. Bang! A yell from
+the hyæna; and down he rushes towards me. Bang! he's down--no--up
+again. Another shot from Captain W., and over he tumbles and is dead
+in a few minutes.
+
+The excitement of such a chase is very great. I was hot and tired,
+and also fat; but when I saw the enormous brute all was forgotten,
+and I leaped down the rocks, scrambled up the hills, and bounded over
+the bushes, as if I had been a boy.
+
+The hyæna is a cowardly animal, although he has immense strength both
+of jaw and paw. Had this been a tiger, he would at the first wound
+have flown at us, and perhaps killed us before we had time to load
+again; but the hyæna rarely turns upon the hunters unless he sees
+that all escape is hopeless. I had no idea that these animals were so
+large. This was little if at all less than a full-grown tiger. He did
+not spring out like the latter would have done, but sneaked along as
+if he thought his horrid ugliness would protect him.
+
+As we were coming home over the sands, I asked Captain W. if he did
+not mean to discharge his gun before he went in. "Yes," said he,
+"and there is a target," pointing to a large black pariah dog, which
+was feasting on some rotten carrion at a considerable distance. We
+dismounted, took our guns, and Captain W. fired. The ball struck the
+sand between the animal's legs, and he stared round him as if to know
+what it meant. Captain W.'s next shot struck the sand close to the
+dog's nose. Off he started, when I raised my gun and fired, and he
+rolled over dead. This was a useless piece of cruelty; the killing
+the hyæna was right, because these animals do much mischief among the
+cattle, and will also carry away young children; but the dogs are in
+a great measure our scavengers, and carry off all sorts of filth.
+
+The only other things we fired at were some jackals and a
+white-headed falcon. The former we missed; the latter I killed. The
+miner is a pretty bird, of which I have before spoken. I consider it
+good eating, although most persons have a prejudice against it, as
+not being a very clean feeder. They fly in large flocks. The other
+day, with a small charge of shot, I killed five at once. The parrots
+are very destructive to the fruit, especially the custard-apple; I
+therefore frequently shoot them in my own garden.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, January 2, 1844.
+
+
+I have been to Pooree; but what I am going to relate now is an
+adventure, not of my own, but of some valiant officers of the
+regiment stationed here. The Captain, the Lieutenant, the Ensign, and
+a Serjeant, went out for a day's shooting; and I had the story from
+two separate individuals of the party. They rode to the ground, and
+then skirted for some time along the side of the dense jungle. At
+last the Captain says--"Well, I am tired; I shan't go any farther.
+Bring me my camp-stool." Fancy a man's taking a camp-stool when he
+goes out to hunt or shoot! However, down he sat; and the other three
+proceeded some way farther. At length the Lieutenant says--"Well, _I_
+am tired; I shan't go any farther. Give me my camp-stool." Down he
+sat; and on went the other two, until the Ensign said--"Well, I am
+tired; I shan't go any farther. Give me my camp-stool." And he sat
+down.
+
+The Serjeant, with one native, now proceeded down a narrow path which
+led into the jungle. He had not been gone more than five minutes
+when the Ensign heard the report of a gun, and the next instant the
+Serjeant rushed out of the jungle, without his hat, without his gun,
+with his mouth wide open, eyes staring, and hair all on end. "What's
+the matter, Serjeant?" cries the Ensign. "A tiger, sir," says the
+other, without stopping. "A tiger?" "Ay." Down goes the Ensign's gun
+over his camp-stool, and off he starts after the Serjeant as fast as
+his legs can carry him. "Hulloh!" exclaims the Lieutenant, as they
+came rushing towards him: "why, what's in the wind now?" "A tiger! a
+tiger!" they shout. Down goes the Lieutenant's gun, and he quickly
+joins in the race. "What in the world are you all after?" cries the
+Captain, as they came to where he was comfortably sitting, drinking
+a bottle of beer, and smoking a cigar. "A tiger! a tiger! a tiger!"
+is again the reply. "Pooh, pooh, nonsense!" said the Captain, moving
+slowly towards his horse. "Nonsense!" answered the fugitives; "we
+tell you there is a tiger down there: go and see yourself." "No, I
+am tired," says the Captain; "I shall go home." And he jumped on
+his horse, and, followed by his brave comrades, galloped back to
+Cuttack. How the natives did grin and chuckle. They, too, had seen
+the frightful monster, and knew that it was a poor harmless jackal
+which had put to flight the Captain, and the Lieutenant, and the
+Ensign, and the Serjeant!!!
+
+But there is moral to this tale. Another officer asked the Serjeant
+afterwards why he ran away? The answer was, that he ran at first
+because he was alone and unsupported, and that he ran afterwards
+because he saw the officers run. And this will ever be the case. If
+the officers show a firm front, so will the men: if the officers
+waver or hesitate, it will naturally strike a panic into the minds of
+those who are accustomed to look up to them for guidance. Remarkable
+instances of both these positions we have recently had at Jellalabad
+and Kabul.
+
+ [Sidenote: COSTUME REGULATIONS.]
+
+I start on Friday next for Balasore. I go principally for the sake of
+exercise and shooting. There are a great many bears there. My wife
+has just hired a new woman-servant. She is of the Ooriah Mehanee
+caste, and therefore may not wear petticoats, but only the common
+native dress. Now, all ladies like their own personal servants to
+wear petticoats; but here it is so strictly forbidden, that the
+woman, if she were once to put them on, would be deserted by her
+husband and children, and never be suffered to eat with any of her
+tribe. But then the Hindu law, whilst it is thus severe on any breach
+of caste, provides an easy mode of getting over the difficulty. My
+wife gives the woman eight shillings: the woman gives half of this
+to the priest, and with the other half she provides a feast for her
+tribe. After this she may wear her petticoats in peace and security.
+
+
+
+
+Barripore, January 5, 1844.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: MIRAGE AT POOREE.]
+
+There is one part of the sands at Pooree, on which if you stand
+about the middle of the day, and look towards the north, you are
+surprised to observe in the distance an English town. You see several
+three-storied houses, with doors and windows: interspersed here
+and there are several very English-looking trees; and at a short
+distance, standing on a small hill, you see the ruins of a large
+castle, with the green ivy clinging to it in many parts. Often have I
+stood and gazed upon this scene, for it reminds me of dear England.
+And yet, if you go to the place, what do you suppose you find?
+Nothing but one long flat bed of loose sand, without one vestige of a
+tree.
+
+The appearance is caused solely by the refraction of the rays of
+light. To explain this I will give an example. If you hold a stick so
+that the lower part is in the water and the upper part in the air,
+the stick will appear to be bent at the point where it passes the
+surface of the water; or, place a shilling in a cup or basin, so that
+you cannot see it because the side of the cup hides it from you, fill
+the cup with water, and then you will see the shilling, although it
+is still in the same spot it was in before. This bending of the rays
+is what is called refraction, and is caused by the rays passing out
+of one transparent thing into another which is more or less dense
+than the first. I think that the cause of the mirage at Pooree is
+this. Hot air is less dense than cold air. The steam which comes
+from a kettle is still water, but it occupies a much larger space
+than the water did. One kettle of water will give much more than a
+kettlefull of steam, so that it is evident that the heat has made the
+water occupy a much larger quantity of space. Still the steam is only
+water; therefore it must be much less dense than cold water. If you
+filled a saucepan with water, and fastened the lid down, so that no
+steam could escape, it would burst it: the particles of heat cause
+the particles of water to be less closely connected together. But
+that is a subject too abstruse for this work.
+
+Well, hot air, like hot water, is less dense than cold air; also
+water is more dense than air. You could not run along as quickly in
+the water as you could in the air; you could not strike a person with
+your hand under water hard enough to hurt him; and this is because
+the water is more dense or solid than air: therefore, air with a good
+deal of moisture in it is more dense than when dry. But along the hot
+sands of Pooree, close to the sea-shore, there must be a great deal
+of heat and also a great deal of moisture.
+
+In the direction in which you look to see the mirage I mentioned,
+there is a small piece of stagnant water from which much moisture
+must arise under the burning heat of the sun; consequently there
+must be much refraction in all directions. And this is seen in
+looking the right way from all parts of the Pooree sands; and from
+the particular point to which I have alluded, this picture, owing,
+I suppose, to certain marks in the sand, assumes the appearance of
+a castle, houses, &c. All this is a very rough explanation; but it
+may serve to give you some idea of the probable cause of the mirage.
+Ships have sometimes appeared to be sailing in the air from the same
+cause; and distant coasts, which were far below the horizon, have
+been distinctly seen by means of the refraction.
+
+
+
+
+Guzzeepuddee, 8 miles from Balasore, January 12.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: SPORTING.]
+
+Yesterday morning about four o'clock we started from Balasore on
+horseback. The party consisted of the magistrate, the surgeon, and
+myself. It was a brilliant moonlight, but somehow I thought I should
+like to finish my night's rest, and therefore soon got into my
+palanquin, and had a most comfortable nap. I was awakened at daybreak
+by my bearers stopping and telling me that they did not know the way
+to Guzzeepuddee. I got out of my palanquin, loaded my gun, inquired
+my way of the first native I saw, sent my palanquin on, and then with
+two servants entered the jungle. Whereabout the magistrate and the
+doctor were I had not the slightest idea. I had a delightful ramble
+through a jungle, many of the natives following me from each village
+through which I passed, and appearing to take great interest in the
+success of my sport.
+
+I went on, with my broad-brimmer hat and brown leather gaiters,
+followed by twenty or thirty black fellows, forcing my way through
+the thickest, densest shrubberies, thinking at every instant that
+I might come suddenly on a large bear. Every now and then a break
+would occur in the jungle, and I would emerge from the tangled
+thicket into a broad open space of three or four acres, covered with
+the smoothest turf, interspersed here and there with the graceful
+bamboo, and surmounted on all sides with a literal wall of trees and
+underwood. On their branches sat the splendid wild fowls and the
+beautiful peacocks, whilst from all sides I heard the soft cooing of
+the doves.
+
+Then again I would find myself in a similar open space; but instead
+of the turf there was a broad sheet of water, with the red and white
+lotus-flowers floating on the surface, and the glittering white
+paddy-bin (a sort of small stock) stretching along the edge. A little
+farther on I came suddenly on a large jheel (a piece of shallow muddy
+water), with the heron and the pelican, and I think the spoonbill,
+standing on the sides and busily catching their breakfast of fish.
+Several of the most curious of the birds I shot, in order to preserve
+their skins, and occasionally, as a hare darted across my path,
+I would raise my gun and fire. But one bird I must describe more
+particularly.
+
+I was standing by the side of a large jheel, when a native called
+out, "A bird, very good: look, sir." I looked in the direction in
+which he pointed, but could see nothing, and was going to scold him,
+when he said, "It will come." I continued watching, when presently
+I saw what appeared to be a long snake rising from the water. It
+was some little time before I could make up my mind that this was
+actually part of a bird, and by that time the long neck was again
+drawn under water, and nothing was visible.
+
+ [Sidenote: A WATER-RACE.]
+
+I continued to watch, and presently, at some yards from the spot
+where it had before appeared, the same snaky form was again elevated
+into the air. It was almost like shooting at a reed, but however I
+raised my gun and fired. There was an instant struggle in the water,
+and then I saw the body of a large dark-coloured bird floating on
+the surface. Wishing to obtain the body, I turned to the natives and
+said, "The man that wants a pice, bring that bird to me." The pice
+is a little more than a farthing, but enough to find a family for a
+day. Six or eight boys and men dashed into the water, and there was a
+regular race, struggling and swimming in order to obtain the prize.
+One boy had just reached the spot, when suddenly it disappeared;
+now the long neck rose in a different place, and again there was a
+rush to obtain the pice. The bird, which was evidently much wounded,
+began to move across the water, keeping its long neck about eighteen
+inches above the surface, no other part being visible. I was running
+round the banks to have another shot, when the bird suddenly rose,
+and, with its long legs extending behind, flew over the jungle. I saw
+it fall at a short distance, but the bushes were so thickly matted
+together that I could not get near the place.
+
+As I advanced farther from Balasore the natives of the village
+appeared astonished at my appearance, many of them probably never
+having seen a white man before. Some stood still staring at me,
+others ran and hid themselves in their houses. At last I came to
+a large open space of a mile or more in diameter, and here a most
+singular scene presented itself. Throughout the whole extent of the
+space, large masses of black rock, perfectly smooth and rounded at
+the edges, rose at intervals to the height of twelve or sixteen feet,
+at an angle of about 70°. It appeared as if some mighty city had been
+swept over by a hurricane, and all the walls were tottering to their
+fall.
+
+Some time after this, to my great satisfaction, I arrived at the
+tent, which had been sent there the day before, and found a plentiful
+breakfast ready, and the rest of the party anxiously awaiting my
+arrival. I had been nearly six hours on foot. Our tent is about
+eighteen feet square, with one pole in the centre, a table and chairs
+inside, and our palanquins, in which we sleep at night, standing
+under a sort of canvas verandah. There is another very small tent for
+a bath-room, and also a part composed of a single piece of canvas for
+the servants. The latter is about thirty feet long and fifteen broad.
+
+ [Sidenote: ENCAMPMENT.]
+
+And now let us look around the encampment. The immediate
+neighbourhood consists of rice-fields, from which the paddy has been
+cut. At about half a mile from the tents on either side is a thick
+jungle, and in the distance are the rugged and magnificent hills of
+the Neilghur, which I have already described.
+
+At six o'clock in the evening the sun was just setting as we three
+sahibs returned from our day's shooting. The magistrate is just
+washing his hands in a chillumchee, or brass basin, at the door of
+the tent. In the front-ground, on two chairs, are seated the doctor
+and myself; the former is having his long leather gaiters or overalls
+pulled off. I have one foot in a chillumchee of warm water, the other
+resting on the black knee of one of my servants, who is shampooing
+and cracking each joint of the toes. Now he has done that, wiped the
+foot dry, put on the shoe, and is squeezing or kneading each muscle
+in the calf of the leg. No one but those who have experienced it can
+have any idea what a luxury this is when you are very tired!
+
+Behind us stands a long-bearded turbaned khitmutgar, with sherry
+and glasses. Our guns are leaning against the side of the tent, our
+horses are picketed to a tree close by, and the grooms are busily
+rubbing them down. A hundred or a hundred and fifty black natives are
+separating into groups according to their castes, and are lighting
+fires all around in order to cook their dinners. Behind the servants'
+tent is a fire of charcoal, over which a black man is turning a hare,
+some partridges, a peacock, and several other results of our day's
+sport. Close by is another fire of wood crackling and sparkling, on
+which are stew-pans with salmon, oysters, &c. &c., which have come
+from England.
+
+It grows late: the moon rises over the hills; the fires blaze up in
+all directions; I see the swarthy natives moving around them, and
+hear them chattering or singing their low monotonous song; everything
+looks wild; I begin to indulge in all sorts of reveries--when a man
+approaches with his hands clasped together, and, bending low before
+me, says "Cana meg" (dinner-table). The peacock takes the place
+of the reverie; visions of the partridges and oysters flit across
+my mind; and I run to help in demolishing a most substantial and
+well-earned meal. I then go to my palkee. The howling of the jackals
+does not awake me, I am too well used to it; but at last, about two
+o'clock in the morning, I was aroused by a sort of sniffing and a
+scratch at the door. I guessed at once what it was, and debated for
+an instant whether I should open it a little and try the effect of my
+pistols, or call out so as to rouse my companions, or lie still and
+leave him to himself. I determined on the latter; as, supposing I
+had not killed him, my visitor might have come into my palanquin and
+killed me before I could get assistance. I therefore lay quietly with
+a pistol in my hand; and I felt much happier when I heard the bear at
+last trot off.
+
+
+
+
+Barripore, January 16, 1844.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: THE NEILGHUR HILLS.]
+
+On Friday morning the magistrate and myself determined to ascend one
+of the Neilghur hills. The doctor did not think it worth the fatigue,
+and therefore shot partridges and wild-ducks for our breakfasts. We
+started from our tents at about half-past five in the morning. For
+about four miles our road lay through jungle, similar to that I have
+already described.
+
+As we emerged from this the effect was most extraordinary. We had
+been suffering much from heat, and the sudden exclamation of both
+of us was, "Oh, how very cold!" A chilling blast came down from
+the hills, which entirely altered the temperature of the air; and,
+moreover, the place where we now were can very rarely, if ever, be
+reached by the sun. These causes produce a most singular effect upon
+the vegetation. Behind us was a dense jungle of bamboos, brambles,
+cacti, &c., through which it was most difficult to force a passage.
+In front of us for nearly a mile--that is, extending to the foot of
+the hills--the appearance was altogether different: not a bamboo nor
+a cactus, not a bramble, scarcely even a thorn; the turf perfectly
+smooth; the only plants a sort of laurel and a species of wild-apple;
+and no two plants growing within four feet of each other. It was
+like a wilderness or a shrubbery in a gentleman's park. We found
+several marks of bears and also of elephants; and the natives were
+rather unwilling to proceed. However, we led the way, with our guns
+in our hands, and soon arrived at the foot of the hill. It rose very
+suddenly, and in many places we had to climb for several feet up the
+face of a smooth black rock, similar to that which I have already
+mentioned.
+
+We had no adventures beyond a tumble or two, but it was a most
+fatiguing work; and the instant we reached the top we threw
+ourselves down and called for a cigar and a glass of beer. This hill,
+which is much the lowest of the whole range, is not, I suppose, more
+than five hundred feet in height: it rises to a peak, the extreme top
+being about six feet in diameter. Here we fired off our guns as a
+signal to the doctor, and then commenced our descent.
+
+At the bottom we were very glad to mount our horses and ride back to
+the tent. It was a very clear morning, and you can hardly imagine
+the wild magnificence of the scene from the top. Behind us lay the
+thick jungle through which we had passed, with Balasore in the
+distance, and the sea forming the background; in front, a wilderness
+of brushwood, extending as far as the eye could reach; to the right
+was a winding river, bordered by the graceful bamboo, with native
+villages and patches of rice-fields on its banks; whilst to the
+left, from the midst of the thickets, rose abruptly the other hills,
+towering to the height of several thousand feet. All these ranges
+belong to tributary rajahs, and are not the property of the English.
+We were delighted with our excursion, and it has led to the proposal
+of another, which we hope to accomplish, with the addition to our
+party of the doctor and the master-attendant, as soon as I return
+from Cuttack.
+
+This second expedition is to be to the highest point visible from
+Balasore. No human being has ever yet ascended it, and the natives
+pretend that it is impracticable; however, we mean to try. I should
+like to set my foot where no man has ever trodden. We shall go well
+armed with guns, pistols, and swords; we are also each to carry a
+hatchet and a billhook, to cut our way through the jungle.
+
+We intend to take a barometer and thermometer in order to measure the
+height, and go well attended by natives. It is said that this hill is
+tenanted by all sorts of wild beasts, but we shall be too well armed
+to fear them. The inhabitants are a very savage race, and offer up
+human sacrifices; but they will hardly dare to attack white men. I
+am very fond of these excursions; the exercise I consider good for
+me--whilst at Guzzeepuddee I was ten or eleven hours on my feet each
+day; and another great advantage is, that they cost nothing beyond
+the price of powder and shot. I must now start for Cuttack. I found
+in the jungle the skeleton of a small boa constrictor: it is perfect
+except the lower jaw. I told one of my servants to take care of it.
+When I returned to Balasore he had lost it; I said, if he did not
+find it again I should deduct a rupee from his month's wages. His
+answer was, "O representative of God, you are the father and the
+mother of your slave, and you must do with him as you think fit."
+However, he managed to find the skeleton.
+
+
+
+
+Midnapore, February 1, 1844.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: BHABANESWAR AND CUNDEGANEE.]
+
+When I returned to Cuttack the last time I found that my wife had
+been rather poorly for some days; I therefore determined that I
+would take her out for a little excursion. We accordingly sent out
+a tent and all necessary apparatus, and then started with some
+friends of ours--a Captain of Engineers and his wife, and a couple of
+children--to explore two of the most extraordinary places in India,
+Bhabaneswar and Cundeganee. At the former there are nine hundred and
+ninety-nine temples, besides numerous tombs, &c.: at the latter place
+some very high hills, perforated in every direction with artificial
+caves; a palace, statues, and animals, cut out of the solid rock;
+long inscriptions in some language now forgotten; images of gods, of
+which the Hindus know nothing.
+
+The trip did my wife a great deal of good; but almost immediately
+after our return to Cuttack I was attacked by one of the fearful
+diseases of the country. Fortunately I knew what it was by the
+very first symptoms, and therefore went to the doctor at once. The
+disease is what we call _liver_; in England it is called, I think,
+inflammation of the liver. It is accompanied by a soreness in the
+side and acute pain in the shoulder. The doctor immediately took
+most energetic pains to reduce me both in size and in strength, and
+he succeeded so well that all danger was soon over. Directly I was
+better I was ordered change of air, starvation, and exercise.
+
+
+
+
+February 15, 1844.
+
+
+I feel quite well again: we start for the hills this afternoon. The
+party consists of seven Europeans and about one hundred natives. It
+happened rather curiously that the Rajah to whom the hill belongs
+called here this morning on business: he is a very intelligent young
+man. He has volunteered to accompany us, to supply us with elephants
+if we wish to hunt upon the plain, and to provide us an escort of
+five hundred men; so we shall go in state. He rode a magnificent
+white horse with _pink eyes_. We each take a small axe, a pair of
+pistols, and two guns.
+
+But before proceeding I would enter into more particulars concerning
+the excursion that we took for the benefit of my wife's health. On
+Monday we all started at half-past five in the morning--Captain R.
+and myself on horseback, and Mrs. R. and my wife in palanquins,
+having their ponies led by their side. We had about one hundred and
+twenty servants with us, Captain R. having a good deal of surveying
+and other work to do.
+
+As we went along the road he stopped to inspect the different
+bridges, &c. We had one little adventure this morning. It seems
+that some months ago a beyraghee, or mendicant, sat himself down by
+the side of the road, a few miles from Cuttack, with nothing but
+an umbrella to shade him from the sun. There he remained for some
+weeks, subsisting on the charity of the pilgrims who were proceeding
+to Juggernat'h. I should have mentioned that our road lay, for a
+considerable distance, on the direct route for Pooree. After some
+time the beyraghee made himself a little hut of wicker-work, after
+the fashion of many of the Indian devotees. These baskets, as I may
+call them, are just large enough to contain a man in a lying-down
+position; they are, in fact, mere coverings.
+
+By degrees the basket became a good-sized mud hut; then the beyraghee
+began to enclose a small piece of ground, which he cultivated, and
+built himself a granary of bamboo to contain the rice given him by
+the pilgrims. Now, although a man with an umbrella does not much
+matter, yet a hut with a little field, around which a village is
+likely enough to spring up, cannot be allowed upon the roadside,
+which belongs to Government.
+
+The man had been warned, but paid no attention to what was said;
+and accordingly, when we reached the spot, Captain R. directed the
+chuprapees, or Government messengers, to pull down the fence and
+destroy the hut, granary, &c. We sat on our horses while these men
+obeyed the order. In a quarter of an hour the whole was level with
+the ground. I knew that Captain R. was perfectly right, yet I could
+not help pitying the poor man, who came and laid himself down at our
+horses' feet, with his hands clasped over his head. Like many of the
+beyraghees, he was entirely naked. They are a worthless, wicked set
+of men, and peculiarly obnoxious to Europeans. It was a singular
+scene. Captain R. and myself, with our broad-brimmed hats, sitting
+quietly on our sturdy ponies; a half-naked groom at the head of each;
+the naked beyraghee at our feet; and a dozen chuprapees, in the
+white native dress, with red badges, hewing the house and fence to
+pieces, and scattering the remains on all sides under the grove of
+mangoes with which the road was bordered. In the distance were the
+palanquins, whilst the wild song of the bearers faintly reached our
+ears.
+
+ [Sidenote: ENCAMPMENT AT BENGWHARRIE]
+
+Nothing of interest occurred after this until we arrived at
+Bengwharrie, a small village, where our tents were pitched under
+a grove, or, as we call it, a "tope," of splendid trees. I have
+already described the appearance of a private encampment; the only
+difference here was that we had a greater number of men about us, and
+more tents. Mine contains one room, about twenty-four feet square;
+in the centre rises the high pole which supports our canvas house.
+At each end are cloth doors, made to roll up. The tent has a double
+fly or covering, one much larger than the other; it is like a small
+one inside a large one. This tends to keep it warm at night, and
+cool during the day; the outer fly forms a verandah round the inner
+room. In the latter are two small camp bedsteads, a camp table, camp
+chairs, &c. By camp bedsteads, &c., I mean such as will double up for
+the convenience of carriage. In the verandah are our palanquins, a
+chest of wine, beer, &c., some cooling apparatus, and various other
+articles. At one side there is an entrance into a small tent, which
+serves for a bathing-room.
+
+After breakfast, we were very much interested in watching the
+monkeys. The tope swarmed with a grey species, some of which appeared
+almost as large as men. They are peculiarly sacred in the eyes of the
+Hindus, who imagine that one of their gods once assumed a similar
+form. They are called Hunnamuns, which was the name of that deity.
+My wife and I stood at the door of the tent watching them for hours;
+they do not appear to be afraid of men. Many of the females had young
+ones with them, and they came and sat down close to us with their
+little ones in their laps. First they would suckle them, then they
+would hush them to sleep, or turn them over and over, pulling off
+all the dirt that adhered to their skins, and making them clean and
+comfortable.
+
+A little farther off you would see four or five males picking the
+fruit off a low bush, and chattering to one another all the time.
+Then a half-grown one would jump down, and give a hard pull at an old
+one's tail, for which he generally received a good box on the ear,
+unless he was nimble enough to get out of the way in time; presently
+one of the old fellows would get angry, and spring into the tree
+after his little tormentor, and a regular chase would ensue. The
+leaps they take are tremendous; they will often spring from the top
+of a lofty tree into the middle of the next without falling.
+
+I saw one of the females shot; it was a cruel sight, and struck all
+the natives with horror. They refused to touch the dead body. The
+ball did not kill her instantly, and she cried piteously, whilst
+she pressed her little one to her bosom, and tried to get into the
+tree. To the last she would not relinquish her young one, and died in
+endeavouring to save it. I could not shoot a monkey, their actions
+and their cries are so like human beings. I know of a case in which
+an officer shot one, and the whole herd instantly sprang from the
+trees and attacked him; it was with difficulty he was saved. They are
+most interesting creatures.
+
+ [Sidenote: CROW-PHEASANT.]
+
+In the evening I went out with my gun, accompanied by Captain R. I
+got nothing, however, but some doves and some crow-pheasants; the
+latter are not eaten by Europeans, though much relished by the
+low-caste natives. It is a bird, as the name signifies, between a
+crow and a pheasant. The colour is black, tinged with a deep dull
+red. It has a long tail, and runs like a pheasant; but I believe that
+its food is the same as a crow's, that is, carrion and animal food.
+
+ [Sidenote: GAME.]
+
+On the Tuesday morning Captain R. was lazy, so I started by myself at
+six o'clock to try and get some jungle-fowl. When I say by myself, I
+of course mean with three or four servants. I, however, shot nothing
+but a few doves and one green pigeon. The latter is a large bird, of
+a pale-green colour, and is most delicious eating, which is more than
+can be said of any of the game in India. The partridges are dry and
+flavourless; the deer have literally not a particle of fat upon them;
+the hares are fit for nothing but soup. A leveret is good, and so is
+a very young peacock, but, old or young, they must be eaten the same
+day that they are killed. By the by, the black partridge is pretty
+good: it has a black neck, shading into deep red on the head; the
+back is dark; the breast and tail are most beautifully covered with
+minute white spots.
+
+I may as well mention now that we shot the other day a double-spurred
+partridge; it was of a dingy red colour, with a crest on its head;
+the legs were bright red, and each armed with two long sharp spurs.
+As I walked along I observed a bird of a species which I had never
+seen before; I tried to shoot it, in order to have it stuffed, but
+missed, and sadly frightened some monkeys who were in the same tree.
+As far as I could judge, every feather was a bright blue, giving a
+most splendid appearance to the bird.
+
+ [Sidenote: MANGO-BIRD.]
+
+After breakfast Captain R. and I stood at the door of the tent
+amusing ourselves with his air-gun. I killed with it three or four
+birds, whose skins I should like to preserve; one especially, though
+I believe I have before described it, namely, the mango-bird. I
+fancy the European name is the golden oriole. It is of one uniform
+brilliant yellow, with the exception of the head, which is perfectly
+black. Its note is very peculiar, as indeed are the voices of many
+of the Indian birds. I cannot describe the sounds on paper, but I
+have learned to imitate many of them well enough to hold a long
+conversation with them. Once or twice, when Captain R. wanted to
+get near to a bird without being observed, he asked me to continue
+talking to it. It is curious to observe them hopping from branch to
+branch replying to my call, and looking round on every side for the
+bird from which they suppose the sound to proceed.
+
+On Tuesday evening Captain R. and I rode about four miles to try
+and find some peacocks. His pony had hurt its foot, so he took
+one of mine. We were going along quietly enough through some
+rice-fields, when suddenly the pony he was on shied; he spurred it,
+and it immediately reared and fell over backwards. Most fortunately
+he managed to throw himself off, so as to escape being under the
+horse, though, as it was, he got a heavy tumble. It is a very nice
+pony, a little inclined to rear; but I am too heavy for it to do so
+with me. I am getting thinner now. We came at last to a beautiful
+bit of bamboo-jungle, where we dismounted, inside of which was a
+paddy-field; in the centre were two fine cocks and five hens feeding.
+Beckoning to the servants to stay behind, I crouched down on the
+ground and crept slowly forward, until I came very near to the
+jungle-fowl, when I cautiously raised my gun to fire; from some cause
+or other it did not go off, though the cap exploded, and the birds
+flew away. Now, a regular Indian sportsman would not fire at a bird
+on the ground, but would first make a noise to frighten him, and
+would then fire as he was flying away; however, I am not practised
+enough for that, and like to get what they call a pot-shot whenever I
+can.
+
+ [Sidenote: SPORTING.]
+
+A little while ago a party of officers went out from Cuttack to
+shoot. Their men were beating the jungle, when suddenly all the wild
+cry ceased, and a man came gliding to where all the sahibs were
+standing to tell them that there was a tiger lying asleep in his den
+close at hand. A consultation was instantly held; most of the party
+were anxious to return to Cuttack, but Captain B. insisted on having
+a shot at the animal. Accordingly he advanced very quickly until he
+came to the place, when he saw--not a tiger, but a large leopard
+lying quite still, with his head resting on his fore paws. He went
+up close and fired, but the animal did not move. This astonished
+him, and on examination he found that the brute was already dead. One
+of his companions had bribed some Indians to place a dead leopard
+there and to say that there was a tiger asleep. You may imagine what
+a laugh there was, though it was very wrong of the Europeans to
+encourage the natives to say what was not true.
+
+Since then a large party has been out from Cuttack on a shooting
+excursion: they found five leopards, two sambres (the largest species
+of deer), and four of the Indian bisons or ghyal, of whose horns I
+have preserved a specimen. They however killed only one leopard.
+
+But I must hasten on with my description. Captain R. and I proceeded
+into the jungle, where we heard several peacocks; we separated,
+creeping along in different directions. Presently I came to an open
+space where some pea-fowls were feeding, but we did not succeed in
+killing anything. The next evening we went to the same place, when
+Captain R. shot a peacock. Towards dusk I was creeping along, when
+suddenly I saw what appeared to me a fine peahen. I signed to my
+men to be quiet, got as near as I could, fired, and shouted to my
+followers to run and pick up the bird, for it was dead. An Indian
+servant rarely loses his gravity; but in this instance they could not
+restrain themselves when they found that instead of a pea-fowl I had
+knocked to pieces the skull of an old cow which had been half-picked
+by the vultures; in the dim light I had mistaken it for a bird.
+
+ [Sidenote: BHOHONESWAR.]
+
+The next day we proceeded about ten miles farther to Bhalmacottee;
+and on the day following, that is Friday, we started at five o'clock
+in the morning for Bhohoneswar. On the way we passed the remains of a
+very large old fort built of hewn stone. In one of the moats, which
+was still full of water, I saw the remains of a pier of a bridge.
+Bhohoneswar is a very ancient town, much more so than Pooree: it is
+celebrated for containing nine hundred and ninety-nine temples. The
+natives say that, had there been a thousand, Juggernat'h would have
+taken up his abode here; but as there were not he preferred having a
+new temple for himself at Pooree. The ancient city has disappeared,
+and the town only consists of a few hundred mud huts. The temples
+however remain--some perfect, others in ruins; some facing the street
+of the modern town, others half hidden in the surrounding jungle. It
+is a wonderful place, and I hardly know how to describe it.
+
+At one extremity of the town is a tank, about half a mile square,
+and of a great depth, entirely faced with huge blocks of black
+iron-stone. In the centre of this stands a small temple, whilst the
+sides are surrounded by others of greater or less size. At the end
+next the town an enormous flight of steps leads down to the water,
+where hundreds of pilgrims were hastening to wash themselves before
+entering the great temple. The farther end is bordered by a dense and
+lofty jungle, and in the distance is a splendid background of rugged
+hills.
+
+After leaving the burrah tellores (great tank) we walked through
+a lane of temples, many of which were ruinous, until we came to
+the grand sacred edifice of the place. The form of this, as indeed
+of most of the others, is similar to that of Pooree. The temple
+of Bhohoneswar is however larger, the principal tower being about
+two hundred feet high. Like all the others, it is built entirely
+of stone, and every block is most elaborately carved. The various
+cornices, of elephants, horses, &c., are as beautifully executed as
+if they had been done by the best European artists. The fretwork is
+most delicate in its livery, and the many images, though representing
+grotesque figures, are admirably carved. The whole forms one mass of
+most splendid sculpture.
+
+No description would enable the reader to form any idea of the
+magnificence of this building. Many of the blocks of stone are
+fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five feet in length, and thick in
+proportion. It would be curious to discover by what means they were
+ever raised to the height of above one hundred feet. This temple is
+still sacred, and we were therefore not allowed to enter it, but we
+examined the interior of several of the others. The lofty domes were
+evidently constructed by a people who were ignorant of the use of
+the arch; they are formed of overlapping stones, approaching nearer
+and nearer together until they reach the top, where the whole is
+surmounted by one enormous block.
+
+ [Sidenote: CUNDEEGURREE.]
+
+We breakfasted in a small tent which we had sent forward to
+Bhohoneswar, and then proceeded in our palanquins to Cundeegurree, a
+distance of about seven miles. This latter place consists of three
+hills surrounded by the most romantic-looking jungle. Our palanquins
+were set down in what may be called a forest, at the foot of the
+principal hill, and crowned by a small but very pretty white temple.
+These hills are perforated in every direction with caves of various
+dimensions, and reminded me most forcibly of the ancient Petra. Many
+of the caves are inhabited by devotees and priests. The god whom
+they worship is quite unknown to our Hindu servants: he is called
+Persilat'h, and is the god of the Jains, who were a powerful race
+that existed prior to the introduction of the Hindu religion. There
+are very few of them now remaining. The god is represented as a naked
+man, standing upright, with his arms hanging down by his sides. In
+many of the caves are small images of this deity beautifully cut in a
+dark-blue stone.
+
+At the summit is a Jain temple, which has been rebuilt within the
+last two hundred years. The Hindus say that the caves are the works
+of demons. Above the entrances to many of them are long inscriptions
+in a forgotten tongue. Several of the letters appear to resemble the
+Greek; but most of them are different from any known language. The
+entrance to one of the caverns is through the mouth of an enormous
+lion's head, cut out of the solid rock: it is exceedingly well
+executed. The pillars about the doorway are also cut out of the solid
+rock. Within the lion's mouth is an inscription in two lines, which I
+copied.
+
+Many of the caves are large and lofty, others very small: there are
+some not high enough for a man to stand upright: of these latter
+several have very small entrances; and in these are devotees who had
+vowed never to leave them alive. The wonder seems how they could ever
+have managed to creep in. I saw some of these holy men: one of them
+had entirely lost his sight; another had his right arm shrivelled,
+and fixed in an upright position, with the nails several inches
+in length growing through the palm of his hand. What suffering do
+these heathens endure for the sake of their religion, whilst we
+are so unwilling to do even a little to please the true God! Their
+superstitions are most disgusting; but they are a reproach to us,
+both for our inertness in attempting to convert the Hindus, and also
+for the contrast they afford to our self-control, who call ourselves
+Christians.
+
+In the solid rock of these hills have been excavated some tanks;
+but the most marvellous thing of all is the palace of the ancient
+rajahs. This, like all the rest, is hollowed out of the solid stone,
+and consists of two stories; the lower comprises a good-sized square
+court, surrounded on all sides by large excavated chambers. Into
+this yard you are obliged to descend from above. The upper floor is
+similarly cut, except that a large portion of the rock has been cut
+away before the entrances were made to the chambers. The consequence
+is that there is a broad terrace, overlooking the rooms beneath,
+and upon which the several apartments of the upper story open.
+What labour must have been employed in making these extraordinary
+excavations! The chambers are narrow, about twelve feet wide, but
+many of them are long; speaking from conjecture, I should say that
+one of them was not less than forty feet, the length corresponding
+with the direction of the side of the quadrangle. The entrance-walls
+(if I may call them so) seem to have been much ornamented; but what
+struck me most was a statue, cut, of course, out of the solid rock,
+and supporting one side of an ornamented entrance to one of the
+chambers. This statue, the natives say, is intended to represent the
+rajah who founded the palace: it is nearly the size of life and well
+preserved. The right arm hangs down by the side, the left is bent at
+the elbow, the hand resting on the hip. On the head appears to be a
+close helmet, with, I think, scales down each side of the face. The
+dress consists of a short shirt of scale armour reaching down to the
+thigh; below this hangs a cloth skirt to the knees; hanging from the
+shoulders behind is a short cloak resembling that worn by our modern
+horsemen; round the waist is a sash or loose belt; boots reaching
+half-way to the knees; and at the side is a double-edged Roman sword.
+Now, to what nation or people such a dress as this can have belonged
+I cannot conceive. I feel confident that no people of India have ever
+worn such garments; yet, when I look at this dress, and consider the
+Grecian nature of many of the letters in the inscriptions, and the
+un-Indian appearance of the pillars in the lion's mouth, I cannot
+help asking myself whether it is possible that, when Alexander was
+stopped by the Affghans, any of his people ventured still farther
+into the country, and after various wanderings founded Cundeegurree,
+as conquerors of the district. Or, if I wish to turn my speculations
+in another direction, I may examine the dress, carved in stone, and
+that statue, and think of the name of the reputed founder Lalal,
+India, Kesari (quære Cæsar?). All this, however, is mere speculation,
+as I have no sufficient data at present by which to arrive at any
+conclusion. There is a much longer inscription very correctly copied
+in Stirling's 'History of Orissa.'
+
+After spending a most interesting day at Cundeegurree we returned to
+Bhalmacottee, from whence my wife and myself came on to Cuttack on
+Saturday. I forgot to mention an animal that we killed; the natives
+called it a "goodee sampsnake," and said it was very savage and very
+venomous, though I imagine it was nothing but a guana. It is a sort
+of lizard, with a very tough scaly skin, about two and a half feet in
+length, head like that of a snake, forked tongue, sharp teeth, short
+legs, armed with long claws or rather talons. I have preserved and
+stuffed the skin.
+
+ [Sidenote: INSCRIPTIONS--ANECDOTE OF AN ELEPHANT.]
+
+A gentleman has just been here who told me an interesting anecdote
+about an elephant. A friend of his bought one, and went out
+hunting with a large party. The animal behaved very well all day;
+but in the evening, when they were going to take off the howdah,
+the mahout called to the Europeans to stand farther off, as the
+elephant appeared to be getting uneasy. He had hardly spoken when
+the animal made a rush forward, seized an unfortunate native, and
+began trampling upon him with his enormous feet; a chuprapee who ran
+forward was seized by the elephant, and flung to the distance of many
+feet into the river; the beast then raised the poor wretch he had
+been crushing, and threw him into the jungle, where he was found with
+not a bone unbroken; every limb was crushed: of course he died almost
+directly. The elephant then ran off, and for weeks was the terror of
+the country round--going into the villages, tearing down the houses
+to look for corn or rice. At last he was caught, and sold to the
+king of Lucknow, in Upper India. I should mention that the only
+limestone hills in this part of India are those around Cundeegurree.
+
+
+
+
+Pooree, May 26, 1844.
+
+
+How little is known in England of what a thunderstorm is! At this
+minute (about ten o'clock in the evening) the rain is pouring down in
+vast sheets of water rather than in drops. For the last two hours the
+lightning has not ceased for a minute at a time, whilst the thunder
+has continued incessantly, varied occasionally by a tremendous crash
+which bursts immediately above the house and shakes it to its very
+foundation. Add to this the roaring of the sea and the howling of the
+wind, and some idea may be formed of the fearful noise now sounding
+in my ears. But the storm is, in one respect, more fearful here than
+elsewhere; at this station most of the European houses are blown
+down once in two or three years--a process which is anything but
+comfortable to the inhabitants, who are compelled to shiver through
+the night on the bleak sands, drenched with spray and rain, half
+covered with loose sand, and afraid to stand lest they should be
+blown away.
+
+
+
+
+May 29.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: TEMPERATURE AT CUTTACK AND POOREE.]
+
+I find that the depth of water which fell in the two hours and a half
+that the storm continued was one inch and a half, a quantity which
+in England, I believe, would not fall without many days of rain.
+But this is a delightful place. The difference of climate between
+this and Cuttack could hardly be conceived, and yet the distance is
+only fifty miles. At Cuttack, during the hot season of the year, the
+inhabitants are obliged to close every door and window at half-past
+six in the morning, in order to keep out the fearfully scorching
+heat, neither can they open them again till seven in the evening.
+Although the air is kept in constant motion by the punkahs, yet,
+being confined, and also much rarified by the heat, it produces a
+stifling gasping sensation, which is most painful. At this time of
+the year too the mosquitoes come into the houses in great numbers,
+and we are therefore compelled to use the mosquito-curtains at
+night, which have no opening all round, and the lower edge of which
+is tucked in with the bed-clothes; you might almost as well be shut
+up in a box. The intense heat, and the quantity of bad air which
+necessarily accumulates under the curtains, cause continual headaches
+and oppression of the lungs.
+
+Well, you start from Cuttack in the evening, arrive at Pooree the
+next morning, and what a change! The doors and windows are open all
+day; and although the thermometer generally stands at 89°, yet the
+incessant breeze off the sea prevents any inconvenience from the
+heat; indeed, we are sometimes glad to close the doors in order to
+keep out the air. At night a delicious fresh wind, which frequently
+renders a blanket necessary, no mosquitoes, no curtains. In the
+morning we can remain out of doors till eight; in the afternoon we
+can go out at five.
+
+How rejoiced many persons would be to be able to spend their hot
+weather at such a place. There are, nevertheless, two great drawbacks
+to the comfort of Pooree. First, the European houses are all situated
+on a vast plain of loose sand, extending from the sea as far as the
+eye can reach in every direction; so that it is considered at Pooree
+quite impossible to walk. My wife, like most other ladies, rides in a
+tonjon, a sort of small cab, carried on men's shoulders. I and almost
+all the gentlemen ride on horseback, or rather ponyback. At Cuttack
+only rich civilians keep horses; all we poor men are content with
+ponies. I have three beauties: two of them, Birmah ponies, for the
+carriage, are of a large size, thick built, very strong, and highly
+valued on account of their hardihood. It is usual to keep their manes
+cropped close, but I like to see them long. One carries me very well;
+the other is a saddle-pony, which does either for my wife or myself.
+It is bay, with long black mane and tail, very sleek, with thin
+ankles and arching neck. Indeed, several people who have looked at
+him say he is the best-built horse they ever saw. He is full of fire
+and play, jumps about, and every now and then stands upon his hind
+legs. But he will not bear to be annoyed by strangers. A friend of
+mine was riding him one day, and teased him so much that at last he
+reared and fell over backwards with him. The carriage-horses are what
+is called sorrel-colour.
+
+The second drawback to the comfort of Pooree is rather a curious
+one, and is, I suppose, caused by the wind and the glare of the sun
+upon the sands. It is the impossibility for any one to keep awake
+during the day. Towards twelve o'clock an overpowering drowsiness
+comes on. Once or twice I have resisted it, and on those occasions I
+verily believe that in the evening, had I shut my eyes, I should have
+gone to sleep upon my feet. This is the universal complaint of all
+visitors to that place. The regular residents get over it.
+
+Talking of the night reminds me of a general habit which would seem
+very odd to people in England. A person would imagine that everybody
+is very fidgety at night, and rolls and tosses about a great deal
+in the very hot weather. To render ourselves more comfortable at
+such times we have a number of pillows of all shapes and sizes and
+hardnesses scattered about the bed. At one roll you lay your leg on
+one and your arm on another, then you turn over to the other side,
+and then, throwing your feet on to one pillow, you hold another
+fast under your arm: that won't do, and you roll over on your back,
+with one pillow under your knee and another under each arm, and so
+on through the night. I can assure you that, however absurd it may
+appear, this multiplicity of pillows is a very great comfort on very
+hot nights, although when you awake you certainly often find yourself
+and them in very funny positions.
+
+ [Sidenote: INTERVIEW WITH NATIVE RAJAHS.]
+
+But now let us describe the journey up the hill, which is situated in
+the territories of the Rajah of Neilghur; that is, he pays tribute
+to the English, but governs his territory for himself. Just before
+we went there, by the advice of the masahibs or councillors, he had
+been into one of our villages making a great disturbance, whereupon
+the commissioner, a sort of governor of the district, sent for the
+Rajah, desiring him to come in to Balasore and explain his conduct.
+I was with the commissioner when he arrived. The Rajah of Neilghur is
+a handsome intelligent-looking young man of about twenty. His estate
+brings him in a revenue of nearly sixty thousand rupees a-year.
+His brother, who is about two years younger, and full of fun and
+frolic, is always with him. They came to Balasore with a party of
+about thirty, three elephants, and twenty horses. The Rajah and his
+brother, with eight or ten of the masahibs, were ushered into the
+commissioner's room, where chairs were offered to the two former;
+the others remained standing. Of course all except the two young
+Rajahs took off their shoes before they entered the room. Mr. M., the
+commissioner, who, as I have told you, is the kindest of men, gave
+them a long quiet lecture, and strongly advised them to dismiss the
+masahibs and govern entirely for themselves; and he warned them that,
+if such disturbances occurred again, he should be obliged to send and
+take possession of the whole territory of Neilghur. They were very
+submissive and made what excuses they could, but which, in point of
+fact, amounted to none at all. At last they rose to take leave, and I
+with one or two others joined them.
+
+I immediately told the Rajah that we were going over to Neilghur on
+the following day, and asked whether he would provide five hundred
+coolies to beat the jungle. The Rajah promised that he would procure
+us the coolies and elephants and make us comfortable. The party then
+mounted, and really it was a very pretty scene. Both the Rajahs and
+all their attendants were dressed in the purest white--full loose
+trowsers, white frocks open on one side of the chest, and white
+turbans. The younger brother wore a red sash, all the others white
+ones. The Rajahs had most splendid gold chains round their waists,
+and three very handsome rings in each ear. The eldest mounted first.
+His horse, which was very tall and strongly built, was an albino; it
+was perfectly white, with red eyes. The saddle, which for all natives
+is made deep and well padded, was covered and entirely concealed
+by a splendid crimson cloth extending from the shoulders to the
+haunches. It was surrounded by a deep gold fringe, and reached about
+half way to the ground on each side. The young man laid his hand
+on the horse's shoulder, and at one vault sprang into the saddle,
+the cloth remaining on. This was the signal for every one to mount,
+and then they all began to show off. Their horses played all sorts
+of antics; they danced, and plunged, and reared, and capered about,
+though still under perfect control; indeed, it was evident that all
+these tricks were the result of education. After some minutes spent
+in this way, they suddenly started off at full gallop, and tore along
+at a tremendous rate as long as they continued in sight. They were
+followed by the elephants in a rough trot.
+
+But I must say something more about these elephants. I was walking
+through the town with C. the evening before, when we saw the
+elephants coming towards us. We were both startled, if not alarmed.
+One of them is said to be the largest in India, and it really did
+look awful. The others, which were of the ordinary size, looked like
+young ones by its side. I had afterwards an opportunity of measuring
+it, and, if I remember rightly, its height was twelve feet eleven
+inches. It is very old, as Tippoo Saib rode it at Seringapatam. It
+is quite blind, and it is most interesting to observe its manner of
+walking or running. At each step its trunk swings from side to side,
+just touching the ground in front, so that the animal may know if
+there is any impediment in the way. A part near the end of the trunk
+is much worn away and quite hardened by this constant rubbing. His
+tusks are magnificent, but his body is little more than a skeleton
+covered with skin.
+
+Whilst at Neilghur I saw this monster bathe. A boy took him down to
+a pond close to our tent. He led him by one of his tusks. When he
+reached the water, at an order from his attendant the elephant held
+out his trunk and the lad climbed up it until he reached his tusks.
+The elephant then raised his head until they were the highest part,
+when the boy slipped off them on the head itself. The animal then
+walked slowly into the water until it reached the top of his legs;
+at a signal from the boy he then lay down, whilst the lad kept on
+the head, scrubbing both that and his back. At another signal he
+sank himself lower and lower, until only his trunk and the head and
+shoulders of the boy were visible. It seemed to enjoy it very much,
+and was almost unwilling to come out again.
+
+ [Sidenote: LEAVE BALASORE.]
+
+We sent our tent on before and started from Balasore at about eleven
+o'clock in the evening in palanquins. Our party consisted of T., D.,
+B., C. and his son, and myself. We arrived at Neilghur at about three
+o'clock, and our palanquins were simply set down on the ground that
+we might finish our night's rest. By the by, when the bearers of the
+palanquins are changed for fresh men, on taking hold they very often
+cry out, "Ah! my brother, my child!" but with me they generally make
+an addition to this--"Ah! my brother, my child, my elephant!"
+
+When they set my palanquin down I turned to look about me. It was
+very dark, though the stars were shining brightly. The hill seemed to
+rise almost perpendicularly from my feet into the clouds; a strong
+blast of cold wind came rolling down its sides, and I was very glad
+to creep back again into my palanquin and cover myself up with a
+thick blanket. A little before sunrise I turned out again and roused
+my companions. We dressed ourselves, loaded our guns and pistols, and
+started on the ascent, after swallowing a hasty cup of tea and a bit
+of bread.
+
+ [Sidenote: SUNRISE--SCENERY.]
+
+At this moment the sun rose, and none but those who have witnessed
+the splendour of the oriental sunrise can have an idea of the
+magnificence of the scene. Immediately in front of us was a broad
+sheet of water surrounded by dense jungle, interspersed with lofty
+trees, from which, as we looked, two peacocks came forth to drink. At
+the back of the lake the hill rose abruptly to the height of nearly a
+thousand feet, the sides partially covered with trees, but which were
+interspersed here and there with precipices two or three hundred feet
+in depth, composed of a dark-coloured rock. From each side of this
+principal eminence project as it were shoulders, of about half the
+height, and which, covered with the thickest foliage, inclined round
+to the right and left so as to enclose us in a sort of semicircle.
+
+We had sent men the day before to trace a path through the jungle,
+and they had tolerably succeeded. But unfortunately I was weak and
+far from well, and was completely knocked up before I got half-way
+to the top. One of our party was a medical man, and he insisted on
+my not attempting to go any farther. I felt deadly sick, my face was
+as white as snow, every pulse in my head and chest throbbed as if it
+would burst, my mouth was not dry but clammy, and when I lay down
+on a piece of rock I almost doubted if I should ever rise again.
+However, I soon felt better, descended the hill, got a glass of beer,
+and lay down in the tent for an hour or two. The others reached the
+top without much difficulty, though two of them avowed that, if the
+summit had been a hundred yards farther, they could not have reached
+it. They were very thankful for some beer and brandy-and-water which
+I sent up for them. They saw no animals, though in several places
+traces of bears were observed. The Rajah says there are no tigers in
+these parts.
+
+We had but little hunting; while we were there one of our party
+killed a beautiful spotted deer. I shot some peacocks and a
+jungle-cock. Talking of hunting reminds me of an adventure which I
+must relate. The commissioner is the stoutest man I have seen in
+India, although my wife did insinuate the other day that I was nearly
+as big, but I am not.
+
+The other day Mr. D., Lieutenant H., and the commissioner went out
+hog-hunting. This sport is always performed on horseback with long
+spears. The beaters soon turned out a magnificent boar. "A boar! a
+boar!" was the shout, and up galloped the commissioner and plunged
+the spear into the animal; but, in consequence of his horse swerving,
+he was unable to withdraw the weapon, and the boar ran off with it
+sticking into his back. Lieutenant H. now came up; the boar charged
+him, cut both the fore legs of his horse to the bone with his tusks,
+and tumbled horse and man over on the ground. In the mean time the
+commissioner had seized another spear from his syce, when the boar
+rushed at him. His horse swerved at the moment that he was making a
+thrust with his spear, and the poor commissioner rolled over on the
+ground. Fortunately the boar was nearly exhausted, too much so to
+charge again; but he did what perhaps no boar ever did before,--he
+seized the commissioner by the coat-tails as he lay on his stomach.
+Feeling the snout of the beast, he at once expected to be cut, if
+not killed, by its tremendous tusks.
+
+He sprang upon his feet; the boar kept hold of his tail. The
+Commissioner faced about; he had neither pistol nor knife, so he
+commenced pummelling away at the boar's face with his fist. Now
+imagine the scene--a man of his extraordinary size with his coat-tail
+held up by an enormous boar; the Commissioner himself turned half
+round, and having a regular boxing-match with the ferocious brute.
+D. came up as quickly as he could for laughing, and with one good
+thrust of his spear put an end to the fight. The charge of the boar
+is fearful; he cuts right and left with his tusks, and inflicts the
+most dreadful wounds.
+
+ [Sidenote: UNCIVIL TREATMENT OF RAJAHS.]
+
+And now I must mention some circumstances which to me rendered our
+expedition to Neilghur very unpleasant; they relate to the manner in
+which our party treated the Rajah. On the morning of our arrival,
+after our descent from the hills, he came with a party of horsemen
+to call upon us. We were just sitting down to breakfast, when I
+observed the cavalcade approaching. I mentioned it, and proposed
+that, according to Indian politeness, we should go into the verandah
+of our tent to receive them. But the principal man of our party said,
+"Oh! bother the fellow, we can't see him now;" and he sent a servant
+out to tell him so.
+
+In the afternoon the Rajah sent his man, corresponding to our chief
+gamekeeper in England, to ask when we should like the coolies to beat
+the jungle, and to say that he would join us in the hunt. We named
+the time and started accordingly, found the coolies in readiness, and
+saw the Rajah and his brother coming upon elephants.
+
+Our party began to move on, when I asked, "Will you not wait for
+the Rajah?" "I should think not," was the reply; "we don't want the
+beastly niggers with us." And yet these civilized men were glad
+enough to make use of these beastly niggers' coolies and elephants. I
+stayed behind and had some talk with them.
+
+The next day the two Rajahs called at the tent; they entered as
+gentlemen, and made the usual Indian salutation. With the exception
+of myself, I do not think one of our party even rose from his chair.
+In the course of conversation we spoke of the badness of the water we
+got. The Rajah immediately offered to send a man six miles into the
+hills to fetch some from a mountain stream. In little more than an
+hour afterwards, one of our party, feeling thirsty, sent a servant
+to ask the Rajah whether he had not got that water yet. In India,
+in speaking to a servant, you use the word "toom," which signifies
+"you." In speaking to a gentleman you say "ab," which means "your
+honour." One or two of our party made a point of saying "toom" to the
+Rajah, which was in fact a great insult. The younger brother called
+upon us. The chief of our party spoke to him on the subject of the
+disturbances, although it had all been settled by the Commissioner,
+and gave him a regular blowing up. And now remember that all this was
+to a gentleman--an Indian it is true, but still a gentleman, with a
+fine estate, and about 6000_l._ a-year, from whom we were receiving
+every kindness, and on whose land we were hunting. Can it be wondered
+at that the natives do not like us so well as might otherwise be
+expected?
+
+The Rajah, I suppose, finding me more civil than the others, gave
+me a great mark of honour. He took me on his own elephant, while he
+acted as mahout, and whenever any roughness occurred on the ground he
+turned to warn me of it. I own that I did not enjoy the honour much.
+The elephant was covered with a crimson cloth, so that there were no
+ropes to hold by. The only way in which I could manage was to sit
+astride. It was really most painful, and I almost doubted whether I
+should ever be able to get my legs together again. I had two brace of
+pistols with me. The Rajah appeared very much pleased with them, and,
+to make up for the rudeness of our party, I gave him one of the pair.
+He was delighted, and I was sadly laughed at for giving anything to a
+nigger. His palace is a fine white building on the side of one of the
+hills.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, July 4, 1844.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: SALT-MANUFACTURE.]
+
+I have mentioned the manner in which Europeans are apt to alienate
+the affections of the natives; I will now give you an instance of
+the way in which the Government seek to conciliate them. It must be
+remembered that salt is a Government monopoly, that is, no person
+is allowed to prepare or sell it except by the appointment of
+Government. The cost to them is about eight annas, or one shilling,
+per maund of eighty pounds; they sell it for four rupees, or eight
+shillings, for the same quantity; and yet so necessary is it to
+the natives, that, if any man does not buy the usual quantity of
+Government, which is, I believe, about half a seer, or one pound,
+a-month, for each individual, he is brought by the police before a
+magistrate and sent to gaol, on the presumption that, as he does not
+purchase salt, he must smuggle it.
+
+Now the salt-manufacturers receive a portion of their pay beforehand,
+and the remainder when the salt is ready. They belong mostly to the
+poorest classes, and their mode of working is very simple, merely
+collecting the sea-water, and then suffering it to evaporate in the
+sun. When they receive the first portion of their pay, they are told
+how much they will receive per maund, for the price varies slightly
+in different years. Last year they were promised a certain sum; I am
+not exactly sure how much, but say eight annas per maund; and when
+they came to the salt-agent for their money, they found that an order
+had arrived from Government reducing the promised pay to six and a
+half annas per maund. Of course they were excessively angry, and
+utterly astonished; for one strong idea with the natives is, that an
+Englishman will never tell an untruth. I happened to be present at
+the time; it occurred at Pooree, in the neighbourhood of which are
+some of the principal salt-works, if I may use so dignified a term.
+
+The proper course for these poor people to have taken would have
+been, to have brought an action against Government for breach of
+contract; but this they could not possibly afford. However, the
+magistrates of Pooree sent a strong remonstrance to Government, and
+the consequence was, that they authorized the salt-agent this year to
+renew the contracts at the higher price, much to the delight of the
+poor salt-manufacturers, who still lost a part of the promised price
+of last year; yet it is scarcely to be credited that, before the time
+for the second payment arrived, another order was sent down, reducing
+the price as they did last year, and thus again defrauding the poor
+wretches of part of their small pittance, for defrauding it is in the
+truest sense of the word. All these things are managed by four or
+five men, who compose what is called the Salt Board.[6] I may mention
+that the salt-workers have been sadly disturbed this year by the
+number of tigers. The natives sometimes keep the claws of those which
+they are so fortunate as to kill, to make charms to keep off mischief.
+
+ [Sidenote: RELIGION OF THE BRAHMINS--JUGGERNAT'H.]
+
+And now I must describe Juggernat'h. To the temple are attached
+about _four thousand_ priests and servants. Of these one set are
+called Pundahs. In the autumn of every year they start on a journey
+through India, preaching in every town and village the advantages
+of a pilgrimage to Juggernat'h; after which they conduct to Pooree
+large bodies of pilgrims for the Rath Justra, or Car Festival, which
+takes place in May or June--the precise time depends on the moon, as
+does the time of our Easter. This is the principal festival, and the
+number of devotees varies from about 80,000 to 150,000. About five
+years ago there were present, on one occasion, not less than 250,000;
+but that numerous meeting was owing to some peculiar sanctity which
+is supposed to be diffused once in 200 years. But I ought to have
+commenced with some account of Juggernat'h himself. He represents
+the ninth incarnation of Vishnoo. I have often wondered whether the
+Hindu religion may not, in some portions, be taken remotely from
+the Christian. One name of Vishnoo is Chrishna; one appellation of
+Juggernat'h is Sri Teo. This Teo, as Chrishna, became incarnate
+whilst very young; he was sought after by a king to put him to
+death. Many children were killed, but he was removed from place to
+place in safety. He was born amongst the shepherds. The Hindus look
+for a tenth incarnation, when he shall unite all the world in one
+religion, and himself reign over them. I believe I am correct in
+giving these as points of faith amongst the Brahmins; and when we
+consider that the Hindu religion was probably established long after
+St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew had visited India, it certainly seems
+allowable to suppose that some portion of the Christian teaching
+became mingled with the doctrines of the Hindus. There is one
+objection to this supposition, namely, that Vishnoo is represented to
+have lived a very wicked and immoral life while on earth.
+
+No European, Mussulman, or low-caste Hindu is admitted into the
+temple; we can, therefore, only speak on hearsay of what goes on
+inside. The idol itself is renewed every twelve years; it consists
+of a mere block of sacred wood, in the centre of which is said to be
+concealed a fragment of the original idol, which was fashioned by
+Vishnoo himself. The features and all the external parts are formed
+of a mixture of mud and cowdung painted. Every morning the idol
+undergoes his ablutions; but as the cowdung and paint would not stand
+the washing, the priests adopt a very ingenious plan--they hold a
+mirror in front of the image, and wash his reflection. Every evening
+he is put to bed; but as the idol is very unwieldy, they place the
+bedstead in front of him; on that they lay a small image, lock the
+door, and leave him to come down himself, if he can.
+
+Offerings are made to him, by pilgrims and others, of rice, money,
+jewels, elephants, &c.; the Rajah of Knoudah and the priests being
+his joint treasurers. About twelve days before the Rath Justra,
+Juggernat'h goes to bathe; whilst doing so, he is supposed to be
+bitten by a snake, which causes him to be sick until the day of the
+festival. During his illness the priests take off his paint and
+cowdung, and give quite a new coat; so that at the end of the time he
+appears quite healthy and strong.
+
+On the grand day the three cars, which, I should say, were fifty or
+sixty feet in height, are brought to the gate of the temple; the
+idols are then taken out by the priests--Juggernat'h having golden
+arms and diamond eyes for that one day--and by means of pulleys
+are hauled up and placed in their respective carriages; to these
+enormous ropes are attached, and the assembled thousands, with loud
+shouts, proceed to drag the idols to Juggernat'h's country-house, a
+small temple at about a mile distant. This occupies several days,
+and the idols, having rusticated for some time, are brought back to
+their regular station. The Hindus believe that every person who aids
+in dragging the cars receives pardon for all his past sins; every
+pilgrim who dies within five miles of Pooree will be greatly blessed
+in his next life; and every person who swims out to sea, so far as
+to see the top of the temple from the surface of the water, secures
+great blessings in another life for himself, his father and mother,
+his grandparents, and the three next generations descended from
+himself! This last experiment, however, is very rarely tried; there
+are too many sharks to make it pleasant. One man was drowned last
+year in attempting it. As to the people throwing themselves under
+the wheels of the car, that I believe to be altogether a European
+invention. Some occasionally fall accidentally, and are thus killed;
+but I imagine that self-immolation in this way neither is nor ever
+was at all a common thing.
+
+I have very little doubt that great wickedness prevails within the
+temple. In two cases, lately, it is known that murder has been
+committed there; yet we, who have held the country so long, are not
+allowed to enter the building. It is said that if we attempted it
+we should be driven from the district; this I do not believe. Some
+years ago the priests declared that the god would not leave his
+country-house until all the English were driven from the province.
+The officer commanding at Cuttack directly sent word that, if the
+idol was not brought back on the usual day, he would come and blow
+both it and the temple to pieces. Juggernat'h immediately came to his
+senses, and was back in his temple one day before his regular time.
+
+During the period the pilgrims remain at Pooree they are not allowed
+to eat anything but what has been offered to the idol, and that they
+have to buy at a very high price from the priests. This food is often
+very bad, and from that, combined with other causes, the cholera
+makes sad ravages amongst these poor people.
+
+ [Sidenote: NUMEROUS DEATHS--EVIL OMEN.]
+
+At the festival that is just past it is calculated that there were
+about 130,000 pilgrims. The cholera this year was very mild; but not
+less than 650 died at Pooree, or between that place and Cuttack.
+Their bodies are generally thrown out to be devoured by the dogs,
+vultures, and jackals. One Sunday morning, in coming home from
+church, we found that three bodies had been thrown out in front of
+our house; two of them were rapidly disappearing in the jaws of these
+animals, the other was tossing about in the surf. However, I sent to
+the magistrate, and he had them removed and burnt. A vast proportion
+of the pilgrims are widows. In India a widow is not permitted to
+marry again, but must be supported by her late husband's relations;
+and it is said that many of those poor women are sent down to Pooree
+in hope of getting rid of them, and no doubt this purpose frequently
+succeeds. And to support this system our Government pays 6000_l._
+a-year; equal to the salaries of ten chaplains of our Church.
+This year an event occurred which the Hindus consider to be very
+ominous of evil. As they were bringing the god out, one of the chief
+priests was seized with cholera, and was sick all over the idol. The
+necessary purifications occupied so long a time, that the procession
+was not able to start that day.
+
+I have just had a sad misfortune: all my cloth clothes, cloaks,
+&c., with two or three dozen shirts, flannels, waistcoats, drawers,
+&c. &c.--in short, everything but what was in actual use--were put
+away in a large chest. Whilst we were at Pooree my stupid man never
+once looked at them. When I returned I wanted something out of the
+chest, opened it, and found that every individual thing had been
+almost entirely destroyed by white ants--coats, shirts, flannels,
+were eaten through in all directions; and I think there was, at
+least, 50_l._ worth destroyed. I have fined my man two months' pay
+for his carelessness; but, as that is only 22_s._, it is a very poor
+consolation to me.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[6] We can scarcely imagine that the Supreme Government would lend
+itself to such a transaction; we think it far more likely that
+it occurred through the culpability or negligence of some of the
+inferior agents, who may have misrepresented the case to Government.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, August 10, 1844.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: BRINDABUND MONKEYS.]
+
+The weather is now most fearfully oppressive; not so much from the
+actual heat, for the thermometer is seldom above 86° or 87°, but
+from a dense mass of cloud, which at the height of a few hundred
+feet encloses us, as it were, day and night in one vast steamy
+vapour-bath. The last two or three months are actually the most
+trying that I have felt in India.
+
+I forget whether I have described the Brindabund monkeys. I have now
+a pair of them. I do not remember ever to have seen them in England.
+They are covered all over with long, thick, black hair; but round the
+face, extending from temple to temple, is a very broad, thick frill
+of white or rather light grey: the tail is of a middling length,
+the snout very short, and the animal himself remarkably docile and
+intelligent. Those that I have are not yet a year old, and I should
+say the body is about a foot in length. When on their hind legs they
+stand nearly two feet.
+
+I have mine in the verandah just outside my study door, and they are
+so full of fun that I often sit for a long time watching them. One
+runs a little way up the lattice, then the other makes a spring after
+him, and up they both go as fast as they can. Presently the lower
+one catches hold of the upper one's tail, and brings him down to the
+bottom; then he makes a jump and gets away into his kennel and sits
+at the door, whilst the other wanders round and round, trying to find
+some place where he can get in without being observed; in doing this
+he carelessly turns his back, when out jumps the other and catches
+hold of his tail or his hind leg, and drags him round and round their
+cage. I should tell you that the cage is the end of the verandah at
+the back of my house; two sides of it are wall, and the other two are
+lattice. It is about ten feet square, twelve feet high at one end,
+and eighteen or twenty at the other.
+
+When they are frightened they sit upright on the floor, with their
+arms clasped round each other; and if I take one of them out tied
+by a string, they both scream the whole time until they are brought
+together again, and then they rush into each other's arms. These
+two monkeys are very much admired by the Europeans at Cuttack, who
+have given them the name of "the gentlemen monkeys," because, from
+the great length of their hair, they look as if they were dressed,
+besides being quiet and docile. They are almost as rare here as in
+England. They are of the most sacred race of monkeys in the eyes of
+the Hindus; and indeed the only objection I have to them is, that I
+am afraid some of my servants make poojah to them, that is, worship
+them, and prostrate themselves before them, and make offerings of
+rice to them.
+
+We have a great improvement in the use of our finger-glasses over
+those in England. One man waits behind every person at each meal,
+even at tea, and as soon as the meal is over he brings his master or
+mistress a finger-glass filled with water, with two or three leaves
+of verbenum, or bay, or sweet-smelling lime, for the persons to
+squeeze between their fingers. In a hot climate like India this is
+very pleasant and refreshing.
+
+ [Sidenote: INDIAN MARRIAGES.]
+
+When a man in India, I mean a European gentleman, wants a wife, he
+says to his friend, "I should like to get married." "Well," says he,
+"why don't you?" and forthwith he applies for leave of absence for
+a month. A month consists of thirty days, of which, say five are
+occupied in his journey to Calcutta, and another five on his journey
+back, leaving him just twenty days in which to make his selection,
+get introduced, make himself agreeable, propose, court, and be
+married. A nice prospect he has for future happiness. But there is
+one curious result in this sort of marriage, and a result, too, which
+spreads among other people also. After a few years the wife loses
+her health and is ordered to England. The husband cannot afford to
+go with her, but he allows her about half his salary. At the end of
+two or three years, or whatever time may have been fixed, he writes
+to his wife to make arrangements for her return to India; and I have
+known two instances in which the husband was obliged to stop the
+allowance in order to compel the wife to return.
+
+I have often wished to have some peacocks in my compound, but every
+one told me that they would fly away; however, I found that those who
+had tried to keep them had obtained the young birds from the jungle.
+I thought I would try another plan, and therefore I got some eggs
+and set them under a hen. I have three young ones coming on nicely,
+perfectly tame, and which, I think, will look very well among the
+trees in front of my house. Two are peacocks, the other a peahen.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, September 14, 1844.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: A NIGHT'S REST.]
+
+My wife and I were sitting, after tea, playing at backgammon and
+enjoying the cool breeze that came through the open Venetians, when
+suddenly it began to rain. In an instant the room swarmed with
+insects of all sorts. There was the beautiful large green mantis;
+and, as we were watching his almost human motions, a grasshopper and
+a large brown cricket flew against my face, while a great cockroach,
+full three inches long, came on my wife's neck, and began running
+about her head and face and dress; the flying-ant, which emits a
+most nauseous effluvia; and the flying-bug, black, and about the
+size of an English one, which, if you crush him, will make your
+fingers smell most dreadfully for many hours;--and with these our
+clothes were covered, and we were obliged to keep brushing them away
+from our faces, but with very gentle handling; and then came two
+or three hornets, which sent Mrs. Acland to bed to get under the
+mosquito-curtains, where none of these horrid creatures can get at
+her. I sat up trying to read, but buzz came a mosquito on the side
+of my face, up went my hand a tremendous slap on the cheek to kill
+the tormentor, and buzz he went on again. Then I felt something big
+burying itself in my hair, and then came buzz on the other side, and
+then all around.
+
+Presently, with a loud hum, a great rhinoceros-beetle dashed into my
+face. I now began to take some of the animals out of my hair; and
+the first that I touched was a flying-bug: the stench was dreadful.
+I rushed out of the room, brushing the horrible creatures from my
+hair with both hands. I nearly fell over a toad on which I trod, and
+reached my bed-room to find eighteen or twenty great toads croaking
+in different parts of the room, and five large bats were whirling
+round and round the bed. Having washed my hands in eau-de-cologne, I
+quickly undressed and fell asleep.
+
+In the course of the night a troop of jackals surrounded the house,
+and by their frightful yells soon drove away all idea of rest; and
+then, about four o'clock, as we were just dozing off again, comes
+the roll of the drum and the loud voice of the trumpet, the tramp of
+the soldiers, the firing, and all the bustle of the parade; and, as
+soon as that is over, comes the changing guard, and the "_shoulder
+harrm_," and the "_quick marrch_," near our house; and so we got up.
+
+ [Sidenote: THE BATH.]
+
+Then comes the bath, the greatest luxury of the day (the water just
+cooler than the air), into which I get with a book, lie there an hour
+reading, get out and partly dress, and then admit my man to wash
+my feet in cold water, and to shampoo me and brush my hair, whilst
+another brings me a cup of delicious coffee or a glass of sherbet;
+and then breakfast, with an enormous fan swinging to and fro over
+our heads; and the heat, and the discomfort, and languor till five
+o'clock, agreeably diversified only by a bottle of beer cooled with
+saltpetre and water; and then a drive, and tea, and mosquitoes again,
+and so on.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, October 13, 1844.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: THE DOCTOR.]
+
+I had to make a five days' journey at the worst season of the year
+to marry a couple, and I returned with a bad cough, which became
+more violent after the cold had left me. I am very weak, so that I
+walk like an old man. The doctors here are paid by the Government
+for attending all persons in the service. The Company also find
+medicines, but not the bottles, which sometimes leads to curious
+circumstances. The other day I wanted some medicine, and sent to the
+doctor for it; presently my man brought me back a black-draught in an
+old eau-de-cologne bottle, with a roll of paper by way of cork, and a
+request that I would return the bottle, as it was the only one he had.
+
+I am about to apply for leave of absence. I shall go up to Calcutta,
+spend a fortnight with my friends there, Mr. and Mrs. S.; they will
+then come down here, when Mrs. Acland will join us, and we shall go
+to the Chelka Lake and the black pagodas.
+
+I have another monkey now, which is kept at the stable; it is a
+horrible animal, about a foot and a half high, of a light greenish
+brown colour, no hair on its head, and very much inclined to be
+savage. I keep it to please my stable-people, who have a superstition
+that this kind of monkey prevents the horses getting unwell. Not long
+ago a young officer turned a very savage one loose; it took up its
+abode in my compound. In one night it killed three of my fan-tailed
+pigeons, and it chased my goats backward and forward so incessantly,
+that one of them died of fatigue. I told my stable-people to catch
+the animal, and get rid of him. This they did not do; so I then gave
+them notice, that, if the monkey was not in the jungle on the other
+side of the river by seven o'clock the next morning, I would cut them
+all a month's pay. This is the best method of punishing the natives,
+and in the present instance it was most effectual, for I have not
+seen the fiendish-looking face of the exile since that day.
+
+In India the cow's milk is very bad, poor, and thin; that of the
+buffalo is of a bad colour and rank; but what is furnished by the
+goat is delicious, and many people, ourselves among the number, keep
+flocks of goats. I flatter myself that mine (twelve goats and seven
+kids) are very handsome. The male kids we eat when they are old
+enough to leave their mother; they are very nice indeed. Our goats
+are much larger than those in England, but all other animals are
+very small. I have heard it said at table, "Will you take a shoulder
+or leg of lamb?" Beef and veal in this bigoted part of the country
+are quite forbidden things. Yet how curious this is! No animals are
+worse treated than the bullocks, which are here the only beasts of
+burden. They are starved and ill-used in every way. I have seen a man
+dislocate several joints successively of his bullock's tail; yet, if
+I were to fire my gun at the poor animal to put it out of its misery,
+I should probably have my house burnt over my head.
+
+I saw a most extraordinary sight last night. It was in the evening
+very hot, and a great deal of electricity in the air. There were two
+very heavy clouds, one at a considerable distance above the other.
+Suddenly some vapour separated itself with a whirling motion from
+the upper, assuming the shape of a waterspout until the point touched
+the lower; then a commotion began, the lower cloud rushing in large
+white masses up the sides of the spout and uniting with the upper.
+This continued for nearly forty minutes, until the lower was absorbed.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, November 14, 1844.
+
+
+I sowed some melon-seed one Friday morning; on the Monday when I went
+into the garden most of the melon-plants were two inches in height.
+In three days, in the open ground, from being mere dry seeds they
+had germinated and sprung up into strong healthy plants. The same
+rapidity of growth is remarkable in almost all vegetation in this
+country. I sowed some English peas the day before yesterday; this
+morning they are all above the ground. Thus we see that the effect
+of the climate is to hurry all these things forward, so that they
+naturally decay and die much earlier than they would in Europe.
+
+ [Sidenote: EARLY MATURITY AND DECAY OF NATIVES.]
+
+Now just put man in the place of a vegetable, and the case is
+precisely the same. A native boy has generally good-sized mustachios
+by the time he is fourteen, and a girl becomes a woman at eleven
+or twelve; then, again, at thirty the woman is old and shrivelled,
+and at forty the man is white-haired and decrepit. Who can wonder,
+then, that a climate like this should have such serious effects on
+Europeans, or that our constitutions should be soon worn out by the
+burning sun?
+
+However, this month I have no right to complain; I am far better than
+I have been for some time. The weather is delightful; we are glad of
+a thick blanket and counterpane at night; at six, when I get up, the
+thermometer is rarely above 72°. I have no objection to a cloak when
+I am sowing seeds in the morning. The thermometer now, two o'clock
+P.M., is in my room exactly 80°, but there is a delightful cool
+breeze.
+
+I have before observed that I did not feel satisfied with my medical
+man. As the East India Company do not allow above one doctor to
+every fifty miles, I wrote to a friend of mine in whom I have much
+confidence, detailing all my symptoms and requesting his advice.
+I could not think it of any use to put blisters and leeches on my
+throat for a cough and sickness which I felt to proceed from my
+stomach, and as I was very unwell I thought it best to consult
+another person. In the wisdom of his advice I perfectly agree,
+although it is more difficult to act up to it in India: "Employ
+your mind and stint your body." Any amusement, anything that could
+interest or excite or rouse, he recommended, but to avoid all
+unnatural stimulants as much as possible (I mean wine and spirits),
+and take plenty of exercise. If I do this, he says, he thinks I may
+leave all physic in the bottles and the leeches in the ponds. In
+accordance with this advice I am occupying myself in various ways.
+Books it is impossible to procure, so I have been training a horse
+for my wife--a beautiful little thing. I have made arrangements too
+for going to Calcutta in the course of the cold weather; and I have
+enclosed about an acre of my ground, and am making a vegetable or
+rather a kitchen garden of it.
+
+I get up about six, dress in my old clothes, go out, and find one
+of the horses, or rather ponies, at the door waiting for me. I must
+ride him through the long grass, which by the bye is very nearly fit
+to cut, to look at a number of my trees scattered here and there in
+the compound, which I have been planting; then, when I am down at the
+farther end I take a glance at the large pond, or tank as we call it,
+where, sheltered by the most beautiful flowering trees, two men are
+catching fish for our breakfast. Then I ride along inside the hedge,
+watching the soldiers at parade, until I come to the goat-house; then
+see the pigs fed, and ride back to the house.
+
+ [Sidenote: FLOWER AND KITCHEN GARDENS.]
+
+By this time my wife is up, and she goes into the flower-garden,
+and I into the kitchen-garden, to sow seeds and superintend the
+gardeners. And here is the most curious scene; seven black men at
+work, their only dress a cloth round the loins, their long black
+hair wound up in a knot at the back of the head, their only tools a
+sort of broad pickaxe with a very short handle and a small sickle,
+these are their only gardening implements; and two men are watering
+with gurrahs, a sort of narrow-necked jar made of black clay,
+which they let down into a well by a rope. In the flower-garden
+are the beautiful balsams, of many colours, and as large as
+gooseberry-bushes; the splendid coxcombs, eight or ten feet high,
+whose great thick flowers measure twelve or fourteen inches by six
+or eight; the varieties of the hybiscas, with many others; and a few
+of the more precious European rarities--at least to us--such as the
+heliotrope, verbenum, larkspur, and many others. Our borders are
+mostly of the sweet-scented grass from the Neilghur hills, which is
+always covered with a beautiful small white flower.
+
+In the vegetable-garden, besides the precious peas, beans, celery,
+cress, &c., which will only grow at this time of the year, are the
+pine-apple, the plantain, the guava, the lime, the orange, the
+custard-apple, with many other native plants and trees; and in the
+hedges are some of the beautiful palms, from the sap of which the
+Indians make an intoxicating drink called toddy. In the compound are
+some very fine mango-trees and beeches.
+
+The other evening I was sitting alone writing at about eleven
+o'clock, when I heard the sentry call out loudly to my servants
+who were sleeping in the verandah. I jumped up to see what was the
+matter. "A leopard-tiger!" was the answer; and the man said he had
+seen a leopard creeping stealthily along the compound. He leapt over
+the wall into the garden of the Colonel who lives in the next house,
+and the following day footsteps were found in various parts of the
+cantonment, which the natives said were too large for a leopard,
+and must have been the marks of a regular tiger. I did not see the
+animal myself; but if the men were correct, it must have been an
+extraordinary occurrence, as our little island is entirely free from
+wild beasts; and although it is at this time of the year joined to
+the main by a narrow neck of sand, yet no large beast will cross
+unless pressed either by hunger or by hunters.
+
+A few days ago a man brought me an animal which he had caught in
+the jungle on the hills. At first sight I said it was an armadillo,
+but now I feel some doubt whether it was not some unknown animal. I
+wanted to buy it, in order to send the skin, or rather the shell,
+home, but the man asked ten rupees for it, which I could not afford.
+It was nearly three feet long, covered with thick hard scales of
+a dirty yellow colour, the tail the same length as the body, and
+equally broad, which I do not think is the case with the armadillo.
+The shape of its whole back was a long oval. When frightened it
+rolled itself up into a ball, but it appeared very lethargic and
+stupid. The feet were armed with long, powerful claws, but it walked
+with the lower joints turned down under the feet, as if I were to
+walk on my ankles with the feet and toes turned under and behind. It
+burrowed a hole in a wall, pulling out the bricks and mortar very
+easily. I tried it with various kinds of food, but the only thing I
+could get it to eat was white ants. The man who brought it said he
+had never seen one like it before.
+
+Not long ago the doctor at Pooree saw a number of natives running
+to the beach. He inquired what was the matter: "A great fish, sir."
+So down he went to join the crowd, and there he found a large fish
+indeed: a whale, measuring forty-eight feet in length, had been
+washed on shore; the body was rolling about in the surf, with great
+numbers of the natives clinging to it.
+
+Then the doctor and the only other European present took off their
+shoes and stockings, turned up their trowsers, and climbed on the
+enormous animal's back; they got well wetted for their pains. The
+other gentleman that I mentioned is not a very learned man, and he
+said that their climbing up the sides of the whale reminded him of
+the "Lally prussians" climbing on to Gulliver. This same person once
+said that his wife had had a "historical" fit, in consequence of
+eating "aromatically" sealed salmon.
+
+
+
+
+Khoutah, 30 miles from Cuttack, December 16, 1844.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: ANTIQUITY OF INDIAN RELIGIONS.]
+
+I am now writing in a tent in which, with the exception of Christmas
+week, I expect to spend the next month or two, travelling in search
+of health. The cool weather has refreshed me much, and I feel far
+better than I did. A question has been asked me respecting the
+antiquity of the religions of this country. I believe the Buddhist
+religion to be more ancient than the Brahminical in India; though I
+think that the latter is the older in reality, as I imagine it to
+have existed almost in its present form in ancient Egypt. The Hindus
+burn their dead, the Mohammedans bury them: but there are very many
+of the former who are too poor to purchase wood; in this case the
+bodies are simply thrown out for the jackals and vultures.
+
+
+
+
+Jenkia, about 44 miles south of Cuttack, January 4, 1845.
+
+
+From Khoulah I returned to Cuttack for Christmas. Early on Christmas
+morning Mr. G., the collector and magistrate of Pooree, came in
+to spend the day with us. Poor man! he and a cousin of his were
+almost brought up together, and they became much attached even in
+childhood. When he obtained an appointment in India, it was agreed
+that he should return to England and marry her as soon as he should
+have attained sufficient rank in the service to give him an adequate
+income. After about five years' residence in this country he went
+home and was married. This was ten years ago, and from that time his
+life seems to have been as happy as a human life can be. Latterly
+they became anxious to go home on furlough, in order that they might
+see their children settled in England, but they had not saved money
+enough; so, in April, Mr. G. applied for a better appointment, and
+was consequently nominated to Pooree. On their way down, as they
+passed through Calcutta, both were seized with cholera; he recovered,
+but she died; he sent his children home, but arrived at Pooree a
+solitary man. He is still in a very desponding state, but I do all I
+can to arouse him, both by bodily amusement and religious converse.
+
+At about one o'clock of the night of Christmas-day, or rather of
+the following morning, my wife, Mr. G., and myself got into our
+palanquins, and started for Khoordagurree, which we visited last
+year. We arrived at our tent by about ten o'clock on Thursday
+morning, bathed, dressed, breakfasted, and prepared to start for the
+caves; but, alas! it began to rain, and the water continued to fall
+in torrents for upwards of eighteen hours. We might have expected
+this, for in India it is almost invariably the case in Christmas
+week. The seasons are very regular; it generally rains every day
+from the 15th of June to the 15th of October, that is, in this part
+of India; the next showers are in Christmas-week, and then rarely
+any more till June. Now, this thorough drenching was both unpleasant
+and dangerous: for, although the tents kept out the water very
+effectually, yet everything was so thoroughly damp that we began to
+be afraid of the deadly jungle-fevers.
+
+Just outside one of the doors of each tent we lighted a large wood
+fire, and allowed as much of the smoke to come in as we could
+possibly bear; this warmed us, and dried up the damp and purified the
+air; and we retired to bed and put out the fires: we closed the doors
+of the tents, and found ourselves in a comparatively dry healthy
+atmosphere.
+
+
+
+
+Tanghi, 56 miles south of Cuttack, January 5, 1845.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: MODE OF TRAVELLING.]
+
+The following afternoon we were able to revisit the caves. But I will
+first describe our journey. On the Monday and Tuesday we had plenty
+of shooting; the Wednesday, New-Year's day, we spent in-doors. At six
+o'clock on the morning of Thursday, the 2nd, we started for Jonkia.
+We went on horseback, riding fourteen miles before breakfast. Our
+manner of travelling is most delightfully independent: we encamp at
+any place we wish to see; Mr. G. transacts his necessary business as
+magistrate and revenue-collector; then we have one, two, or three
+days' exercise in hunting and shooting, the time depending chiefly on
+the abundance of game.
+
+When we feel inclined to start we send forward an order to the
+principal man at the next place, say twelve or fifteen miles distant,
+to build one room, about thirty feet square, in a shady place, for
+ourselves; for the walls we use cocoa-nut and palm leaves, bound
+together with bamboos, and the ceiling is made of the same material
+with a few pieces of matting to keep out the sun. The evening before
+we start we send on a cart with some of our chairs, tables, and other
+necessaries and provisions, which it would be very awkward to forget,
+under charge of some of our followers: we have about one hundred and
+twenty of them with us.
+
+Then, in the morning, we get up at five; we have a bit of toast, an
+egg, and a cup of coffee or a glass of sherry; give orders for the
+tents to be struck and everything to be brought on as quickly as
+possible, and then we mount our horses; a groom runs by the side, and
+a little way behind come our palanquins and tonjons.
+
+We are also attended by men carrying our guns and powder, by many
+other servants, and about half the inhabitants of the last village
+through which we passed. If we feel tired we get into our tonjons;
+if the sun is too hot we call for our palanquins. Every now and then
+we see five or six peacocks feeding in a rice-field, or we come to a
+place where there are plain tracks of deer. Then we give our horses
+to the grooms, and creep along gently with our heads down and our
+guns in our hands, whilst my wife either watches the sport or trots
+gently on. At last we arrive at our encamping-place; there we find
+our leafy house ready, and similar ones provided for the servants and
+horses; eat a hearty breakfast, at which we sometimes substitute beer
+for tea, and by the time that is over the tents are arrived.
+
+We have them put up, arrange them comfortably, perhaps have a game
+at chess, and then go out for a stroll about our new ground. Our
+dinner-hour varies, but is generally between seven and eight. We
+are usually up about five, and often walk from ten to twenty miles
+a-day. This has done me a great deal of good. I feel already quite a
+different person from what I did when I was in Cuttack. I have not,
+however, lost my cough.
+
+Sunday is a day of rest with us; we have service and spend the day
+very quietly. At Jonkia we remained until Saturday the 4th; then came
+on to Tanghi; on Thursday, the 9th, proceeded to Soonercollee, on the
+10th to Bampoor, and yesterday, the 11th, we arrived at this place.
+So much for our actual route; now I will give some account of what we
+have seen.
+
+When we came to Jonkia we agreed that we had never seen anything to
+compare with the scenery there; but as we came into Soonercollee we
+quite forgot Jonkia in the new splendours that met our eyes. Yet
+these were again eclipsed in the beauties of Chelka Lake, to which we
+took one evening's ride from Soonercollee. It is utterly impossible
+to convey any idea of the scenery either by the pen or the pencil;
+yet I will try what I can do.
+
+In approaching the small village of Soonercollee you ascend a hill
+some 200 or 300 feet high by a steep winding road or rather path. At
+the top of the eminence it is cut through the solid rock, which rises
+about thirty feet on each side. Suddenly, at a turn in the road, the
+whole country in the front becomes visible, and I doubt whether any
+one could repress a cry of admiration at the sight. The spectator is
+(as I said before) at the summit of a lofty hill; beneath him is a
+plain of some ten or twelve miles across, bounded on every side by
+a lofty range and masses of rock. Peering up behind are to be seen
+a succession of noble mountains. The sides of the hills, where they
+do not consist of rocky precipices, are covered with a dense jungle:
+the plain below is cultivated, except where, in three places, abrupt
+rocky masses, interspersed with jungle, rise to a height of 300 or
+400 feet. It looks as if some mighty convulsion had taken place, and
+the earth had thrown up large bubbles of rock from the surface of the
+plain.
+
+ [Sidenote: CHELKA LAKE--WATER-FOWL.]
+
+The scenery on the Chelka Lake, a piece of water some forty miles
+long by from ten to twenty in breadth, is very similar to the above,
+if you substitute water for the level plain of the rice-fields.
+Here the hills rise abruptly from the lake, and many of them are
+quite inaccessible. The islands are inhabited by animals, but not by
+man; and it is rather curious that each islet appears to have its
+own peculiar race. Thus, one is inhabited by the beautiful spotted
+deer, another by the enormous Indian elk, another by goats and fowls
+(this one is sacred to the goddess Khalee), another by wild pigs,
+and another by pigeons. With some difficulty I landed on one of the
+pigeon islands: its greatest height did not exceed thirty feet, and
+in circumference it may have been near a quarter of a mile; but
+its structure was most extraordinary. It was composed entirely of
+enormous masses of rock piled together without the appearance of
+order or arrangement: it appeared as if some earthquake had destroyed
+some giant dwelling-place, and left the ruins in one vast heap. Some
+of the stones, larger than a man's body, had fallen upon one end;
+they gave way beneath my foot, but returned to their position as soon
+as relieved of the extra weight which had destroyed the balance. The
+blue pigeons rose in clouds from every crevice, and fluttered about
+until I left the neighbourhood of their nests.
+
+The lake lay all around--so calm, so beautiful, with the green
+mountains rising here and there from its surface, dotted all over
+with myriads of ducks, geese, teal, and many other aquatic birds: and
+this reminded me of one thing which I should have related before.
+As we approached the shores of the lake we were surprised to see a
+long line of tall white and red creatures standing just within the
+water. We looked at them through Mr. G.'s glass, and found that they
+were birds; we got out of our tonjons, crept towards them with loaded
+guns, fired, and missed them, when they all rose and flew away.
+
+The next morning Mr. G. and I returned to the spot: we each took a
+separate boat, as Mrs. Acland was not with us; mine, like the others,
+was about thirty feet long, and formed of a single piece of wood, a
+tree scooped out. Mr. G. was very anxious to obtain some game, and
+in the course of about two hours shot a couple of large bare-headed
+geese and nineteen ducks of various sorts; indeed, they sat in such
+masses on the water as to resemble rather a low wall than a number of
+birds. At one shot he killed five ducks, and I three: I did not care
+much about them, but I was anxious to see again some of my friends of
+the previous evening.
+
+At last I came in sight of a flock of them near the shore. I sat down
+in the bottom of the boat, whilst the men pushed it gently along. I
+was nearly within shot, when Mr. G. fired his gun at the distance
+of about a mile from my boat: up and away flew all the birds. I was
+very much annoyed: however, after some time, I saw about half a dozen
+nearly two miles from me. On we went again, but they had become shy:
+they raised their heads and looked about them as we approached, and
+presently they rose. I did not think I was sufficiently near, but I
+might not have another chance, so I fired, and down fell one of the
+birds. I pushed one of the boatmen over to fetch it, though he hardly
+needed pushing, for they appeared quite as anxious as I was.
+
+I will try to describe my prize: I believe the bird to have been a
+flamingo; and yet, if so, the usual descriptions are very erroneous.
+The beak is pink, and furnished with a double row of teeth on each
+side of the lower mandible--one row on the beak, and dark coloured;
+the other very white and sharp, close to the tongue, which is large.
+The eyes are pale, and surrounded by a thick yellow ring; the wings
+are of a beautiful rose-colour, edged with black; the legs pink; the
+rest of the body is white. When standing upright it is about five
+feet high: the body is extremely small, neck and legs very long; it
+has three toes in front and is web-footed, also a claw behind; the
+beak very large.
+
+
+
+
+Midnapore, February 14, 1845.
+
+
+This is Friday, and on Sunday night I start for Calcutta to spend a
+month with our friends; there I shall have plenty of occupation for
+the mind, and shall, I hope, get rid entirely of the oppression under
+which I have recently suffered.
+
+ [Sidenote: SPORTING.]
+
+Fancy yourself standing with me on that little rising ground, near
+the foot of that large hill: it is near Bunool, on the banks of the
+Chelka Lake. Keep out of sight behind that bush. Hark! there are the
+beaters climbing the rocks on the opposite side of the hill. There
+are 400 extended along the whole side, and every tenth man has a
+drum or trumpet. Some of them have guns, curious native matchlocks;
+others have swords or spears; and every one has a thick bamboo about
+eight feet long. Listen! they are beginning to beat. As they force
+their way through the jungle they strike the bushes with their
+sticks, and from one end of the lake to the other resound the most
+unearthly noises. The horrid yells of the natives, the screaming of
+the trumpets, the constant beating of the tom-toms and drums--you
+can hardly imagine such horrid discord. See: there is Mr. G. hiding
+himself behind that clump of trees a quarter of a mile off. Hold
+your gun ready, you cannot tell what may rush out of the jungle.
+Don't show yourself. Listen again to those yells. They must nearly
+have reached the top of the hill. Hush! there is a rustling in those
+bushes close to you. What is it? Keep close, but up with your gun.
+Here it comes! Bah! don't fire at that; it is only a civet-cat. What
+a beautiful animal it is, with its grey sides, and tail striped with
+that glossy black. But the skin is of no use; the stench from it is
+so exceedingly powerful that you could not possibly bear it in the
+house. Look out! there's another rush! Here it comes! a pig! no; what
+can it be? Why, it's a porcupine. Don't fire. Here, you messenger,
+catch it. Fancy the man's look of dismay when ordered to catch a
+porcupine. However, another of my men jumped up and stabbed the
+animal with his sword.
+
+Oh, what a clash in the jungle at the top of the hill! See! that must
+be some large animal coming down. Don't let him see you; peep through
+that bush. How he plunges through the jungle! He has stopped: look
+now! he leaves the beaters behind him, but he suspects danger in
+front. You can see his head by the side of that tree, just below that
+high rock. He is standing still and gazing at us. What a splendid
+pair of antlers! He must be one of the largest sambres (Indian elk) I
+ever saw. I am afraid he is hardly within shot; however, I'll try. He
+is down; the ball struck him just in the centre of his forehead, and
+one of my men rushes forward to despatch him with his sword.
+
+But look there! Mr. G. is running as fast as he can, and all his men
+running too. What can be the matter? Quick! see! there is an enormous
+bear pursuing them. Here, give me my gun; make haste. Look! G. has
+stumbled, and is rolling head over heels down the hill. Bang! I hit
+him! See, he turns back. G. shot the female, and was immediately
+attacked by the male, whilst his gun was not loaded, for he foolishly
+had but one. We got the body of the female, and brought it to our
+tents in triumph. It was a black bear, measuring five feet seven
+inches in length, and its teeth quite worn out.
+
+
+
+
+Cuttack, April 2, 1845.
+
+
+The Government of India orders me to go from Cuttack to Midnapore and
+back again four times a-year, to Balasore and back twice a-year, and
+to Pooree and back four times a-year. The distance from Cuttack to
+Midnapore is one hundred and eighty miles, from Cuttack to Balasore
+one hundred and three miles, and from Cuttack to Pooree forty-nine
+miles. I travel about forty-seven miles a-day on the average.
+The Government allows me twelve annas and two pice per mile for
+travelling expenses; it costs me four annas and two pice--an anna
+being one-sixteenth part of a rupee, and a pice one-fourth part of an
+anna.
+
+ [Sidenote: SPORTING.]
+
+I must now mention some of my adventures in the jungle. One day we
+went with a native Rajah to hunt antelopes. Suppose the shore of the
+Chelka Lake on one side and the sea on the other, with a strip of
+sand between them rather more than a mile wide. The antelopes live
+entirely on the sandy plain, and feed on the scanty plants which grow
+among the sand. Across this flat a net about seven feet in height
+and a mile long was staked, and 100 men were stationed along it as
+guards. About 500 men were then sent out with a similar net about
+a mile and a half in length, which they stretched at perhaps five
+miles from the other. These 500 men then walked slowly towards the
+first net, carrying the other in front of them, and driving lots of
+antelopes before them. When they came within a mile of the first
+net they staked the second, and there were perhaps fifty or sixty
+antelopes enclosed in a space of about a mile square. Mr. G., the
+Rajah, and myself, went inside with our guns. It was barbarous sport.
+In two days we killed fifteen, which our servants ate most gladly.
+But the interesting thing was to see twenty or thirty bound, one
+after the other, over the net and the men's heads, giving tremendous
+leaps; the black men striking at them with their swords and spears,
+and cowering to avoid their sharp-cutting hoofs, and all hallooing
+and jabbering, and swearing; whilst every now and then the crack of
+one of our guns would be heard, and the whizz of the bullet as it
+passed near.
+
+Another day we expected some danger. When we arrived at the ground,
+which consisted of thick patches of jungle, with open spaces between,
+we got out of our tonjons and took our guns. There we found a number
+of men looking for traces of deer, wild boars, tigers, or any other
+animals. As soon as they found the track of one they followed it
+until it led into the jungle, and exactly at that spot they pushed
+in amongst the bushes an enormous bag made of net of thick rope.
+Its mouth was kept open by a few twigs, whilst a running rope went
+round the entrance and was fastened to a stake on one side. If then
+any animal should make a rush along this track, he must go head
+foremost into the net: the twigs would fall down, the neck would be
+drawn tight, and the poor creature would be a prisoner. All these
+preparations were at length concluded, and the Rajah then advised us
+to mount the elephants, as he said two tigers had been seen in these
+jungles the day before. We at once asked him whether his elephants
+had been trained to stand the charge of a tiger, which always springs
+at its head. He said he did not know; and we agreed that we would
+rather stand the advance of a tiger on foot ourselves than be on the
+back of a mad elephant scampering at random through the jungle. So we
+built up an artificial hedge in front of us, and crouched down with
+our guns pointed through some loopholes we had left in our fence.
+
+This arrangement was hardly completed before we began to hear the
+sounds of the drums and the trumpets, and the yells of the people,
+as nearly a thousand of them marched through the jungle towards us,
+driving before them every sort of game. I should tell you that we
+kept our elephants close at hand in case of the worst. You cannot
+imagine the excitement in such watching as this. Two or three miles
+off the most fearful yells from 1000 men, close around you utter
+silence; your eyes roaming in every direction, not knowing at what
+point a deer or a tiger may break out.
+
+Ha! listen! there's a crack among the branches, and out rushes a
+noble stag. Bang goes G.'s gun. We had agreed that he should have the
+first shot. He's down! "Hush! here's something else in this patch of
+jungle." "Where?" he whispers, as he loads. "There, I see it now:
+look out; here it comes!" And sure enough out rushed seven pigs,
+followed almost immediately by three others. Now a wild boar is a
+most awkward animal to fight on foot, and we had agreed we should
+not fire at them. However, they rushed right towards us. What's to
+be done? "Get on the elephant," says G. "No time," said I; "follow
+me:" and we both fairly turned tail, pursued by a herd of pigs until
+we came to a bush, or rather a patch of bushes, round which we could
+make a short turn to escape them, and then back to our own station,
+laughing as hard as we could. But really a wild boar is no laughing
+matter as he rushes along tearing up the earth. If he charges, as he
+almost invariably does, with one movement of his head he could cut
+both legs to the bone, dividing the arteries, and probably killing
+the man.
+
+Presently a young stag rushed into one of the bags with such force
+as to break both his horns close off. There we found him when we
+examined the nets. We were sitting watching for what should come
+next, when G., raising his finger, whispered to me, "What's that down
+there in the plain? That's a deer: no, it can't be: do you see how
+it slouches along? Depend upon it it's not a deer." "Well, at any
+rate it's coming this way; we shall soon get a look at it." Another
+pause of half a minute and the beast was concealed in a little patch
+of jungle a few hundred yards from us. I now had time to examine it.
+"I'll tell you what, G.; that brute's a regular tiger." "Well, so I
+thought, but I hardly liked to say so: what shall we do if he comes
+this way?" "I say keep close where we are." "But suppose he should
+make a spring over the hedge in front of us?" "Lie flat down, and
+let him go over us: yet I think I could hardly resist having a shot
+while he was in the air." "Oh! pray don't fire; what in the world
+could we two do on foot against a wounded tiger?" However, our fears
+were needless: as the beaters advanced, the animal slunk away into
+a more distant piece of jungle, and we saw no more of him. Two of
+our people were rather hurt to-day--one by a deer leaping over him,
+and cutting his head with his hoof; a rupee, however, made him quite
+happy again: the other was a man who, as a large stag rushed past,
+made a spring at its horns, thinking to pull it down, whereby he got
+severe fall and prevented us from firing.
+
+
+
+
+Pooree, April 26, 1845.
+
+
+ [Sidenote: FATAL ILLNESS OF AUTHOR.]
+
+I have had another attack similar to last year; it came on in
+the same way and whilst I was in the pulpit. In the midst of the
+sermon my teeth began to chatter; I could not speak; my face became
+perfectly white; a cold blast seemed to enter my left side and spread
+over the surface of my body, and then gradually penetrate to the
+very innermost part, whilst I was obliged to cling to the sides of
+the pulpit for support. It did not last above a minute and a half,
+and I managed to finish my sermon; but it was enough to astonish the
+congregation and to warn me of what was coming. All my old symptoms
+returned, though not so strongly as before--utter restlessness at
+night and heavy sleepiness during the day, a painful cough when I
+lay down, and other alarming signs. We came down to Pooree, where my
+favourite doctor lives, and I already feel much better.
+
+There is a billiard-table in the house where we are now staying, and
+the doctor desires me to play as much as I can every day. Of course
+playing for money is never allowed. The game of billiards is about
+the best exercise for India. It is not too violent, yet it gives a
+man about three miles of walking in the hour, and brings all the
+limbs into play.
+
+
+
+
+May 8, 1845.
+
+
+I am too weak to write much, and shall therefore continue at another
+time.
+
+
+[NOTE.--On the 17th of May the author's life was closed.]
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+London: Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS, Stamford Street.
+
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious typographical errors were repaired. Archaic and valid
+alternate spellings were retained.
+
+Hyphenation inconsistencies were standardized.
+
+p. 145, "I believe the Buddhist religion": Original read "Bhuddist."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Popular Account of the Manners and
+Customs of India, by Charles Acland
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43586 ***
generated by cgit v1.2.3 (git 2.25.1) at 2026-07-02 17:04:35 +0000