if he be untroubled with thought-which Hindoo abstraction necessarily implies-and which, without a quibble, is nothing at all if it be not nothing at all, requiring the utter absorption of every faculty and feeling-the consummation of felicity to which Brahma and Budhu alone of all the three hundred and thirty thousand of gods of India have attained; with the ineffable privilege of drawing their true followers into the same beatitude of stupefaction.

July 14. A funeral by water, at which we were present to-day, may be recorded, in contrast with the funeral by fire already described. Perceiving a small company of persons carrying a corpse among them on the shore, we landed from our pinnace. The body, shrouded with a figured shawl, which left the feet alone bare, was that of a woman. A female who accompanied the corpse assisted the bearers to lay it under the water, leaving the face only above the surface. After this immersion it was drawn out and extended along the bank, with the feet close to the last ripple of the stream. At our request the husband uncovered the face and showed what he had put into the mouth-a mixture of gold, silver, sugar, and ghee, to the quantity of half a teaspoonful. This was a kind of viaticum or passport to the other world. The head and shoulders were then strewn over with dry grass and palm-leaves, to which the son of the deceased, a young man about twentytwo years of age, set fire with a whisp of straw; when the family and friends walked six times round the corpse, till the momentary blaze went out of itself, having done no apparent injury; a Brahmin meanwhile muttered something for a prayer. The young man next, standing in the river, threw water with his hands from that sacred source to purify his mother's remains. A boat passing by at this juncture was hailed, and lay to, whereupon the husband and son fastened to either arm of the deceased, by a yellow string, a new earthen vessel with a narrow neck, holding about two gallons each, and which had never been used for any ordinary purpose. They then took up the body and floated it till they reached the boat, into which they got, but kept their charge buoyant alongside till they felt the motion of the mid-current. There, where the stream was deep and strong, filling both vessels with water, they let go their grasp, and instantly the whole disappeared in the gulf beneath. The son took the lead in all these transactions, the husband being a mere occasional auxiliary. Previous to the ceremony the former had caused his head to be shaved on the spot to purify himself for the mournful duties; yet neither he nor his father shed a tear, or seemed any more affected than were the two earthen jugs with which they sunk their nearest relative to the bottom of the river. We might be mistaken, but indifferentism, if not apathy, is the characteristic trait of Hindoo countenances on occasions the most likely to excite the deepest and strongest emotions in human hearts, however hardened or disciplined they may be by brute habit or vain philosophy.

July 17. We anchored off Benares in the

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evening. This city has long been celebrated as the seat of Brahminical learning and Hindoo superstition. It is of vast extent, and corresponding wealth and magnificence, combined with the usual proportion of poverty, filth, and wretchedness, as may be judged when we state that, according to a census taken in 1803, there were twelve thousand stone and brick houses, sixteen thousand mud-walled ones, and a population of five hundred and eighty-two thousand souls. This number was exclusive of the retinue and attendants of three resident Mogul princes and several foreigners of distinction, who had large establishments. After a lapse of twentythree years all these estimates must be increased considerably; and the inhabitants of Benares may now be taken at six hundred and fifty thousand. Approaching the city from the river the greater part of it is seen at once, being built on a moderate slope, across which it forms a crescent. The cliffs which front the shore, being thirty feet in elevation, give no mean eminence, amidst a land of dead levels, to ground regularly rising beyond them and covered with buildings, among which are many public edifices of imperial bulk and singularly splendid architecture. The famous mosque of Aurengzebe, erected on the site of a demolished Hindoo temple, is most conspicuous, being two hundred and ten feet to the top of the dome; its two minarets, of vast height and slender diameter, first strike the eye in the distance, and, whatever objects beside attract it for a while, to these it returns with unsatisfied admiration. Wishing to proceed to Allahabad (the extent of our present expedition) we stayed only two days at Benares, lodging at night in our pinnace, but otherwise availing ourselves of the kindness of the Missionary of our Society here, Mr. Adams, who, with his excellent wife, showed us very acceptable attentions.

Aug. 2. At Allahabad, seventy miles from Benares, having letters of introduction, we were politely received by Judge Colvin and other gentlemen. This city stands at the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna, and is regarded as one of the holiest of all the holy places of Hindoo resort, on account of the virtues of its double stream. By some it is deemed so privileged a spot, that whoever dies here may be surely reckoned to have gone to Paradise. From time immemorial, therefore, devotees have been wont to come hither at the festivals for that very purpose, who, that they might not fail, in the first step at least, took the shortest road out of this world. To that end an earthen vessel, filled with sand, was fastened to each foot of the voluntary victim, who, being placed on the gunnel of a boat, was rowed to a particular point in the main channel of the united rivers, and there thrown overboard. Of course he sank immediately. Several Brahmins were wont to attend this solemnity, for such it was considered; and they, and an old woman who kept the boat used on such occasions, made no small gain by the delusion, which, therefore, they were anxious to keep up as long as possible. When the present upright and intelligent British judge

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came to office here, he prohibited the Brahmins from making any processions in such cases, and the old woman from hiring musicians to attend in her boat when miserable fanatics were predisposed to destroy themselves. This broke up the murderous custom; the Brahmins were enraged, but could not help themselves; while the female Charon, whose business it was to ferry souls about to be disembodied upon this daylight branch of the Styx, raised a piteous clamour about the loss of her occupation, saying (in substance) with the spectre that appeared to Burns

"Folk maun do something for their bread, An' sae maun Death;" pleading, moreover, that people had a right to drown themselves whenever they pleased, as their fathers had done before them. The judge plainly replied, that if they thought fit to go and drown themselves, they might do so for aught that his ordinance included, but if the old woman chose to help them she must take the consequences. Not soon appeased, away she went to Benares, and laid her grievance before the supreme court; but not obtaining the justice which she wanted there, she returned chagrined and disappointed. Since then the practice has ceased altogether; and not the smallest commotion has arisen among the natives from this resolute interference with their evil superstition.

In one of the temples here we found a living god-a great brown haboon, who appeared very little aware of the dignity of his state, and quite as regardless of the profane honours that were paid him. Several men were seated on the pavement before him, bowing down, beating drums, and singing songs to the disgusting beast, who, to do both parties justice, seemed quite as rational as his worshippers.

In another quarter of the city we were introduced into a subterranean temple, dedicated to an idol which we cannot name, but which is more worshipped throughout India than all the millions of other false gods put together. An ancient female led the way, with a single lamp, through a long dismal passage, about seven feet high and six wide, at the extremity of which was this sanctuary of abomination, literally a "chamber of imagery," more than a hundred and twenty feet long, and nearly half as broad. The ceiling, which was not higher than that of the passage, was supported by a very great number of square stone pillars, in rows, forming various dreary aisles, through which the glimmer of the lonely lamp, casting strange black shades from all the stationary objects, as we passed along, made darkness visible, and peopled it with flitting phantoms. Multitudes of images, some without heads, others without bodies, and others again mutilated in various ways (all equally good, and all as good as new), were discoverable in recesses of the walls, and on the floor, in the spaces between the columns; they were of the usual sizes and shapes, standing, sitting, and lying. At length the sibyl brought us to a place where there was nothing to be seen but the forms of two human feet, cut upon a flat stone. Here she set down

her lamp, and, squatting herself upon her heels, by certain very significant motions gave us to understand that here she expected to receive a gratuity for having shown us the rarities of her dungeon-temple. Half a rupee brought a smile over her gaunt countenance, which certainly made her appear the most beautiful object among all that she exhibited. In one corner of this noisome, dark, and filthy den, she pointed out to us an "immortal tree." It was a biforked stump, and actually had upon it a few young and tender shoots. This also was a god; but, god or tree, that it could live and grow in such an atmosphere was beyond our strength of faith to receive; and we were afterwards assured that when one stock decays, or ceases to germinate, another is substituted; and this change-though the roots of the incumbent are daily watered, to keep up the semblance of vegetable life-takes place not much seldomer than once a year. The information was confirmed by the suspicious appearance of a castaway stump, of the kind, which we happened to spy in another part of the temple. This is a place of great resort, being antiquated also beyond the memory of man; free ingress is allowed to the natives by the British government. The Mahommedans, it is said, levied a very productive tax on admissions to it.

Some idea of the prodigious multitude of pilgrims that annually visit this holy city may be formed from the circumstance that there are four hundred barbers in it, who are supported, principally, by shaving the heads of bathers in the sacred waters of the Jumna and the Ganges; such purification being indispensable before venturing upon an ablution which is supposed to reach the very soul, and cleanse it from all defilement. A tax is preposterously levied by the British government on each of these strangers; and, at festival-times, the office where it is received, and licences to bathe are issued, is thronged with eager applicants, who grudge no labour, suffering, or expense that they may obtain heaven by such means as are here required for the purchase of it.

The very extensive and well-built fort of Allahabad, and the ancient palace of the rajahs of these regions, which seem one mass of building, and which stand on the point of land at which the rivers meet,-are seen at some distance as we ascend the Ganges, and give Allahabad an air of grandeur and magnificence, which, when we travel through the city, we do not find sustained, either by the extent of the population, or the houses, streets, or bazaars.

The

To the judge and magistrate, A. J. Colvin, Esq., we were much indebted for his obliging reception of us, and furnishing us with his buggy, palanquin, &c., which enabled us to see the place, temples, &c., to advantage. Hindoo temples and Mahommedan mosques are here, as almost everywhere, numerous. Some remarkably shocking instances of absurd superstitious worship we saw whilst here. happened to be visiting a very handsomelybuilt stone temple, covered with well-executed sculptures of their idols, holy persons, &c., in

We

stone, of the highest relief. In this temple are several stone idols representing the serpent the cobra capella, or hooded snake. The largest, which represents a serpent twelve feet long, with five heads, and the hoods on all expanded, coiled into a sort of Gordian knot, and very well cut, is the principal object of worship in this temple. While we were looking at this stone snake, a horrid-looking man, unclothed, rushed in (he was about twenty-five years old), being covered with the ashes of burnt ordure, and his huge quantity of hair matted with muddust. His eyes appeared inflamed: he bowed before the serpent, then prostrated himself, afterwards respectfully touched his head, looked fixedly upon the serpent, prostrated himself again, then touched it, and rushed out, as if in a paroxysm of delight at the thought of having worshipped this thing! When he got out of the temple, he walked all round, within the verandah, and, having once more bowed at the door of the temple, he departed with a hurried step. We cannot conceive of any human being having more the appearance of a demoniac than this miserable creature, who, nevertheless, is regarded by the poor Hindoos as one of the holiest of men.

Mr. Mackintosh informed us that, in this part of India, there are now none of those suttees, of which formerly there were many. He observed that he never knew instances here of infants being exposed in trees, or thrown into the Ganges, nor of parents brought down to the river, and, having their mouths, ears, &c., filled with the mud of the Ganges, left to die. But Mr. M. took us to see some tombs of persons who had procured themselves to be buried alive, as the most immediate way to heaven. The last of these shocking interments took place about seventy years ago. Another horrid form of self-murder has happily been put down by a regulation of the government, and the wise and firm application of it by the present truly worthy judge and magistrate, Mr. Colvin, who said he had not suffered any one to drown himself at the junction of the Ganges and the Jumna; having declared that, if any one attends another, either with a boat or to assist in tying on the earthen pots, or helps the individual to throw himself into the river, the person or persons so acting shall be regarded as accessory to the murder, and be dealt with accordingly. An instance of this self-drowning, Mr. C. said, had not occurred since he has held the government of Allahabad; nor will he tolerate either these or any other cruelties which it is in his power to prevent.

Aug. 12. On our return to Benares we were in time to witness the most superb procession which we have yet seen in India. There were in it twelve elephants, richly caparisoned, each carrying four men; also six camels, finely bedizened and mounted; after which came many horses, not less sumptuously appointed, some having riders, and others being led. Bands of musicians, with a posse of attendants and gazers, accompanied this truly oriental spectacle. On inquiring the occasion, we were

informed that it was in honour of a Mahommedan festival, and given by a widow of that profession, who had lived on loose terms with a wealthy European, over whom she had exercised such influence, that, at his death, he left her nearly the whole of his immense property.

omen.

Among other temples, in the city and neighbourhood, which we visited, was a famous one of Doorga. The image of the goddess is nothing more than a small medallion of a female face, of a gold colour, fixed in the wall, ornamented round about with tinsel, and having a lamp on one side. Two Brahmins, seated near this representation, were receiving and offering the gifts of the people, which were merely chaplets, or handfuls of white flowers, or green foliage. These were thrown down upon the ground. Many persons were coming and going, some of whom prostrated themselves before venturing within the door. In the outer court a sacred bull was couched at his ease, chewing the cud, but, though he lay directly in the way, none ventured to disturb his rumination. The precincts of this temple are more lively than such places usually are, on account of the number and activity of the monkeys which frequent them, and which are said to have first flocked hither when the temple was opened a circumstance which the superstitious builders would naturally interpret into a happy There are several large and ancient trees at hand, some of which with their foliage overshadow the walls. On the branches of these, on the roof of the edifice, and on the top of the surrounding piazzas, multitudes of these impertinent animals, tame, quite at home, and conscious of their perfect impunity, are to be seen playing their tricks, up and down, here, there, and everywhere. Some of the elder and graver ones were lounging on the companion-places, watching the gambols of their fraternity above, but, with more interest (from selfish but laudable motives), the less exhilarating mummeries of those who, to them, might appear kinsfolks below-the priests and the votaries of Doorga; for many of the latter, after presenting flowers and leaves to the goddess, threw offerings, more savoury and not less acceptable (sweetmeats), to the monkeys in her train. The habits of the females, in nursing their cubs, were very amusing, and as these chartered denizens of the sacred domain are fearlessly familiar, we might approach near enough distinctly to observe their actions. Some of them had young ones not more than a few days old; others were training up their progeny, through all the stages of adolescence, up to monkey's estate. The dams were exceedingly vigilant and affectionate in performing their duties, and kept their little ones generally within reach of their hand, and always of their eye. While swinging about on the boughs of the trees, or scampering along the walls, if a giddy thing attempted to get too far from her, the dam darted forth her paw, caught it by the tail, or, if the tail slipped through her fingers, laid hold of a leg, and gently pulled the truant back. On any alarm, or disturbance, she hud

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Some of the women in Benares are inveterate shrews; such, no doubt, there may be elsewhere, but here we have particularly remarked it. The tongue, however, is the main weapon (for they rarely come to blows), and fearfully expert are they in using it, for the annoyance not of their antagonists only, but of all who have the misfortune to come within "the wind of such commotion." Downright scolding-matches are kept up for hours in the market places among those who deal in commodities there. If domestic or other business call off one of the combatants before the affair is duly settled, she coolly thrusts her shoe under her basket, and leaves both on the spot, to signify that she is not yet satisfied. Immediately upon her return, the lady takes up her shoe and her argument, and begins where she broke off, nor ever ceases till she has exhausted her spleen, her strength, and her vocabulary of foul phrases, or obtained from the object of her vengeance the satisfaction required.

But the sex here, as might be expected, have a passion far more universal than the love of termagancy-the love of finery. Fashion can make anything beautiful or becoming in the eyes of its votaries, otherwise one would think that the preposterous rings and other appendages, which many of the females attach to their noses-to say nothing of pendants to the ear like clock-weights, or garniture going all round it, like the numerals on a dial-plate-would be deemed disfigurements rather than embellishments of genuine loveliness; but here such outrages upon nature are so common as scarcely to appear such after a little familiarity with them. Besides these, the women wear as many gold, silver, or copper rings as they can afford upon their wrists and arms, up to the shoulders. A metal knob suspended by a string, and dangling to and fro as they walk, is also a favourite ornament. Their breasts and arms are tatooed, after the manner of the South Sea Islanders, with curious if not seemly devices, which are often well executed. The hair is generally divided upon the forehead, where a red line is drawn, besides the mark of caste down the nose, and some fanciful patch of colouring above. The lower limbs are not less loaded than the upper with manacles of fashion; ponderous links of which are placed round the ancles, and lesser ones upon the great toes; the latter rising in a conical form to the height of an inch and more. Their heads being generally covered with cloth of some kind, the mode of wearing the mass of hair is not much apparent; but many tie it in a knot behind. One of the finishing touches of beauty is to blacken the eyelids and lashes,

which to us appeared the last mockery of ugliness, defacing countenances sufficiently disagreeable before. The men often wear necklaces and strings of beads, which they employ to keep the reckoning of their prayers and ejaculations at their devotions: but they seldom employ any other fopperies, and never tatoo their bodies.

Benares contains a population of nearly 700,000 souls, Hindoos and Mahommedans, besides an immense accession of pilgrims at particular seasons of the year. It is the most celebrated of the holy eastern cities, and for beauty, majesty, and novelty, as it is first seen, sweeping to a great extent along a noble reach of the river, can scarcely be surpassed; its numerous proud and picturesque ghauts, temples, mosques, and other buildings, forming the arch of a grand semicircle.

CHAPTER XLV.

Departure from Benares-Farm-establishment-Monument at Patna-Boat swamped-Hot Springs near Monghir-Singular Superstition-An EntertainmentWorship of Working-tools-Riding on Elephants-Sagacity of those Animals-Hindoo and Mahommedan Oaths -Indifference of Criminals to the Sentences passed on them-Infanticide-A great Piece of Ordnance-The Adjutant-crane-Festival of Doorga-The Bull-godTongue-boring-Worship of a black Stone.

1826. AUG. 31. We left Benares on the 24th, and having moored off Dega, near Dinapore, for the night of this date, we took the opportunity of visiting the farm of Messrs. Howell and Sonan establishment so thoroughly English in character, that there was scarcely anything in our own country of which we were not reminded by some counterpart or other on the spot. Here are extensive flower and kitchen gardens, in which most of our native fruits and vegetables are carefully cultivated. In one part stands a large open building, with a tank full of water, on which a great number of teals, young and old, were sailing to and fro; in another a spacious piggery, where multitudes of hogs were wallowing in all the luxury of indolence and plenty; the beautiful birds and the gross swine being alike pampered, according to their habits, for the market and the table. A third and fourth arrangement consisted of stables and yards for horned cattle and horses, of each of which were many valuable ones. A fifth enclosure presented a deer-park; fish-ponds, abundantly stored, and menageries for a great diversity of fowls, were likewise included in the round of accommodations; on the entrance to which might indeed have been inscribed the old roadside-inn motto, "Good entertainment for man and beast." Besides these, there was what might be called "the victualling-office," a convenient building for curing beef and pork, also a well-furnished store-room for pickles and preserves; a cotton-warehouse; a shop for all kinds of European articles, including jewellery, glass, stationery, &c. &c., splendidly displayed. In suitable places we observed sheds for carpentry, turnery, and smith's-work; a metal-foundry, and a tanyard; the bark used in the latter being from a tree of this country. In fact, this polytechnical establishment comprehends the

means for carrying on every ordinary trade, and for supplying every peculiar want which foreigners here must feel in a land so different from their own. The dwelling-house of the proprietors, a very handsome edifice, stands in the centre of the premises, which are a mile in circuit. Sept. 1. At Patna, among other objects that attracted our attention, we were particularly struck, in the foreign burying-ground, with the appearance of a monument in commemoration of the massacre, in cold blood, of two hundred European prisoners at this place in the year 1763, by a German adventurer, then in the service of Meer Cossim. On a square pedestal stands a stately column, fifty feet in height, ornamented with five fillets, which project considerably from the shaft, and having a well-executed capital. There is no inscription; but he who asks why this stone has been raised may find thousands of voices to answer, in words which will probably outlast the pillar

itself.

We stayed a day or two at this very ancient city, both as we went up and descended the river. The Hon. Judge Douglas (to whom

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we had a letter of introduction from his niece, Lady Brisbane, of New South Wales) received us very kindly, and furnished us with palanquins and attendants, that we might see this curious and interesting city, whose entire population of 250,000 souls are as yet uncared for by Christians of any denomination; only we understood that incidentally a Baptist native Christian has gone to see them. Morning, evening, and at noon, we saw countless multitudes performing their ablutions and devotions in the sacred river; and under almost every green tree they had some idolatrous object of worship. Some of their stone and other gods, to which we saw them presenting offerings, and on which we observed them pouring libations, we succeeded in purchasing from one of their priests; and these we have with us, that our privileged fellow-Christians of Britain may see additional instances of what contemptible things these poor Hindoos are contented to put their trust in, and pay their adorations unto. The city of Patna is, by the course of the river, about 550 miles above Calcutta. The Ganges is about five miles wide here.