RAVEL I N I N D I A, during THE YEARS 1780, 1781, 1782, & 1783* BY WILLIAM HODGES, R. A. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, AND SOLD BY J. EDWARDS, PALL-MALL. PREFACE. The intimate connexion which has fo long fubfifled between this country and the continent of India, naturally renders every Englifhman deeply interefled in all that relates to a quarter of the globe which has been the theatre of fcenes highly important to his country; and which, perhaps, at the moment when he perufes the de-fcription of it, may be the refidence or the grave of fome of his deareft friends. It is only matter of furprize, that, of a country fo nearly allied to us, fo little mould be known. The public is, indeed, greatly indebted to the learned labours of gentlemen, who have refided there, for the information which they have afforded concerning the Laws and the Religion of the Hindoo tribes; as well as for correct, and well digefted details of the tranfa6lions of the Mogul government. But of the iv. PREFACE. face of the country, of its arts, and natural productions, little has yet been faid. Gentlemen who have refided long in India lofe the idea of the firfl imprefiion which that very curious country makes upon an entire flranger: the novelty is foon effaced, and the mind, by a common and natural operation, foon directs its views to more abftract. fpeculation ; reafoning affumes the place of obfervation, and the traveller is loll in the philofopher. To fupply, in fome flight degree, this hiatus in the topographical department of literature, is the immediate object of the following pages. It will, I flatter myfelf, not be dif-agreeable to my readers to be informed, that they confift of a few plain obfervations, noted down upon the fpot, in the fimple garb of truth, without the fmalleft embellifhment from fiction, or from fancy. They were chiefly intended for my own amufement, and to enable me to explain to my friends a number of drawings which I had made during my refidence in India, fome of which accompany the prefent publication. The apology is trite; but in this cafe its truth, and the refpectability of the name to which I refer, muff plead my excufe......it was owing entirely to the influence and perfuafion of my moft jullly efteemed friend, Henry James Pye, Efq. Poet Laureat, that thefe obfervations have been fubmitted to a tribunal, which I have ever regarded with awful refpeci......the Public. PREFACE. v. While I acknowledge my heart-felt obligations to one friend, it is not confident with my prefent feelings to omit the kind attentions of another. My learned friend, Dr. Gregory, by his perufal and revifion of my manufcript, contributed greatly to lefTen my apprehenfions of that ordeal to which I was about to commit myfelf; and though he infills upon my (fating, that his corrections were almoft entirely verbal, yet I cannot but be confcious, that, without them, the work would have appeared in a ffill more imperfect Rate. After all, I am aware that I fland in need of every candid allowance on the part of my readers. It is evident that the fludies abfolutely requifite to any degree of proficiency in a liberal art, and the practice of that art afterwards as a profeflion, can leave but little leifure for the cultivation of literature ; and perhaps my engagements have been even more unfavourable to this object than thofe of moft artifts. A long circumnavigation, and the profefhonal labour required in completing the works for Captain Cook's fecond voyage, occupied me for feveral years; and a voyage to India, with my different excurfions in that country, absorbed no inconfiderable portion of my time and attention. On another part of this work I can fpeak with rather more confidence, becaufe I am lefs perfonally concerned; and becaufe, as far as I am concerned, I appear in my pro- vi. PREFACE. per profeffional character. The drawings, from which the plates for this work are engraved, I have already mentioned were made upon the fpot: and, to the utmoft of my ability, are fair and accurate reprefentations of the originals. Of the execution of the plates, while I feel that too much cannot be faid, my fenfes fufficiently convince me that it is unnecefTary to fay any thing. I therefore conclude with fhortly returning my thanks to the artifls for the care and attention they have beflowed upon them. Queen Street, May Fair, Feb. 18, 1793. TRAVELS i n INDIA, chap. i. General Appearance of the Co aft—Of the Town of Madras— Boats of the Country—Firfl Reception of a Stranger—His Senfations on entering the Country—War with Hyder Ally— General Diftrefs—Defcriptive Sketch of the Country, Buildings, &c.—Indian Temple. The whole extent of the Coafl of Coromandel is an even, low, fandy country; and about Madras the land rifes fo little and fo gradually from the fea, that the fpec-tator is fcarcely able to mark the diftinftion, till he is amfted by the appearance of the different objects which prefent themfeIves upon the (hore. The Englifh town, rifing from within Fort St. George, has from the fea a rich and beautiful appearance; the b houfes being covered with a ffucco called chunam, which in itfelf is nearly as compact as the fineft marble, and, as it bears as high a polifh, is equally fplendid with that elegant material. The ftile of the buildings is in general hand-fome. They confift of long colonades, with open porticoes, and flat roofs, and offer to the eye an appearance fimilar to what we may conceive of a Grecian city in the age of Alexander. The clear, blue, cloudlefs fky, the polifhed white buildings, the bright fandy beach, and the dark green fea, prefent a combination totally new to the eye of an Englishman, jufl arrived from London, who, accuffomed to the fight of rolling mafles of clouds floating in a damp atmofphere, cannot but contemplate the difference with delight : and the eye being thus gratified, the mind foon afTumes a gay and tranquil habit, analogous to the pleating objects with which it is furrounded. Some time before the .tiip arrives at her anchoring ground, fhe is hailed by the boats of the country filled with people of bufinefs, who come in crowds on board. This is the moment in which an European feels the great diftinction between Afia and his own country. The ruffling of fine linen, and the general hum of unufual con-verfation, prefents to his mind for a moment the idea of an affembly of females. When he afcends upon the deck, he is {truck with the long muffin drefTes,* and black faces f adorned with very large gold ear-rings and white turbans. The firfl fa lu tat ion he receives from thefe flrangers is by bending their bodies very low, touching the deck with the back of the hand, and the forehead three times. The natives firfl feen in India by an European voyager, are Hindoos, the original inhabitants of the Peninfula. In this part of India they are delicately framed, their hands J in particular are more like thofe of tender females ; and do not appear to be, what is confidered a proper proportion to the refl of the perfon, which is ufually above the middle fize. Correfpondent to this deli- * This drefs is in India ufually worn both by Hindoos and Mahomcdans, and is called Jatnmah ; whence the drefs well known in England, and worn hy children, is ufually called a jam. t The complexions of the people on the Coaft of Coromandel and to the fouthward, are considerably darker than thofe to the northward. It is alfo to be obferved, that the native Hindoos are generally darker than the Muf-fulman, who originally came from Tartary and Pcrfia. The latter may in faft be called a fair people; and I have even feen many of them with red hair and florid complexions. It is a well known fac~t, that when a Tartar or Perfian family has refided in India for a few generations, their complexions have confiderably deepened. The Mogul family of the houfe of Timoor, I undcrftand, are of a deep olive complexion. X It has been obferved of the arms frequently brought to this country, that the gripe of the fabre is too fmall for mod European hands. b 2 cacy of appearance are their manners, mild, tranquil, and feduloufly attentive : in this laft refpect they are indeed remarkable, as they never interrupt any perfon who is fpeak-ing, but wait patiently till he has concluded; and then anfwer with the mod perfect refpect and compofure. From the fhip a {Iranger is conveyed on fhore in a boat of the country, called a Maffoolah boat: a work of curious con ft ruction, and well calculated to elude the violent fhocks of the furf, that breaks here with great violence : they are formed without a keel, flat bottomed, with the fides raifed high, and fewed together with the fibres of the cocoa-nut tree, and caulked with the fame material: they are remarkably light, and are managed with great dexterity by the natives: they are ufually attended by two kattamarans, (rafts) paddled by one man each, the intention of which is, that, fhould the boat be overfet by the violence of the furf, the perfons in it may be preferved. The boat is driven, as the failors fay, high and dry ; and the paffengers are landed on a fine, fandy beach: and immediately enter the fort of Madras. The appearance of the natives is exceedingly varied, fome are wholly naked, and others fo clothed, that nothing but the face and neck is to be difcovered ; befides this, the European is (truck at firft with many other objects, fuch as women carried on men's (houlders on pallankeens, I N D I A. 5 and men riding on horfeback clothed in linen drefles like women ; which, united with the very different face of the country from all he had ever feen or conceived of, excite the ftrongefl emotions of furprife ! It is impolTible to defcribe the enthufiafm with which I felt myfelf actuated on this occafion ; all that I faw filled my mind with expectations of what was yet unfeen. I prepared therefore eagerly for a tour through the country ; but my route was fcarcely fixed, when I was interrupted by the great fcourge of human nature, the great enemy of the arts, war, which, with horrors perhaps unknown to the civilized regions of Europe, defcended like a torrent over the whole face of the country, driving the peaceful hufbandman from his plow, and the manufacturer from his loom. On the eighteenth day of July, 1780, I was a melancholy witnefs to its effects, the multitude coming in from all quarters to Madras as a place of refuge, bearing on their moulders the final 1 remains of their little property, mothers with infants at their breafls, fathers leading their horfes burthened with their young families, others fitting on the miferable remains of their fortunes on a hackery,* and dragged through the duff by weary bullocks; every object was marked by con-fufion and difmay, from the 18th to the 2iff, the numbers * A hackery is a fmall covered carriage upon two wheels, drawn by bullocks, and ufed generally for the female part of the family. 6 TRAVEL SIN daily increafing : and it was fuppofed that within the fpace of three days not lefs than two hundred thoufand of the country people were received within the * black town of Madras. Our Government behaved on this melancholy occafion with their ufual humanity and liberality; and not only publick, but private relief was afforded them to a confiderable amount. Those poor people were foon afterwards diftributed to the northward, and into the fircars ; which are lands that lay to the northward of Madras, and but of late years ceded to the Englifh Government. Mr. Smith was at this period at the head of the Government of Madras: and the folicitous attention of his lady, to relieve the private inconvenience of many Englifh families, who were alfo obliged to take inciter within the walls of the fort, muff ever be remembered with refpect. Every object that now prefented itfelf to the imagination bore the fame threatening and calamitous afpeft: the country houfes of the Englifh, within one mile of the fort, were ftripped of their furniture, by the owners, even * Adjoining the glacis of Fort St. George, to the northward, is a large town, commonly called the Black town, and which is fortified fufficiently to prevent any furprife by a body of horfe. to the doors and window-blinds; this indeed was no more than neceffary, as the enemy extended their depredations even to the walls of Madras; and no fecurity could be found without the fort; until the camp was formed at the Mount, a place about ten Englifh miles weft of Madras. Every gentleman now poftefling a houfe within the fort, was happy in accommodating the family of his friend ; who before had refided on Choultry plain.* The troops being collected from different quarters, with provifions and a proper train of artillery, the vanquifhed fpirits of the people appeared to revive ; and the reyot was again feen cultivating his rice fields, or collecting the fruits. Nothing lefs was expected when the army took the field, but that Hyder Ally would very foon be efcorted by a party of our troops into Fort St. George, and there make a public atonement for the miferies he had occafioned. This vifion foon vanifhed, in the unhappy fate of Colonel Baillie's detachment, and the return * The country near Madras is a perfect fiat, on which is built, at a fmall diftance from the fort, a fmall Choultry: thefe arc publick buildings found all over Hindoftan, and arc of Hindoo origin ; they are in fact analogous to thofe buildings called caravanferais, well known through Afia. They have been erected and endowed by the liberality of princes, or the benevolence and piety of individuals. A Bramin generally attends them who adminifters relief to the poor and diftreifed, who are frequently fupplicd alfo with a matt to lie on, tanks, or refervoirs of water, or wells, are commonly near them. of the army from a three week's campaign, reduced in its numbers and difpirited by its IofTes. Thefe circumftances are too ftrongly marked in the page of hiftory to make it neceflary to recount their particulars in a defcriptive work like this. The arrival of Sir Eyre Coote from Bengal, with money and other fupplies, in September, and the active meafures purfued by that gallant officer, reftored confidence to the troops; and the moft fanguine hopes of the inhabitants from his exertions were not difappointed. The opportunities that offer to a painter are few, in a country which is over-run by an active enemy. I made however among others a drawing of Marmalong bridge, which is a very modern work, built, as I am informed, at the private expence of an Armenian merchant. It is over a fmall river that runs near the mount, and falls into the fea at a little diftance before the village of St. Thoma, four miles to the fouthward of Madras. The Portugueze had formerly a confiderable fettlement at this village. The church and the dwelling-houfes of a few Portugueze families yet remain here. The legendary tale of the Roman Catholic church is, that St. Thomas the apoftle, in the courfe of his mif-fion to India, fuffered martyrdom on the fpot where the church is built. The fettlement of Madras was formed by the Englifh at or about the middle of the laft century, and was a place of no real confequence; but for its trade, until the war fo ably carried on by General Stringer Lawrence, from the years 1748 to 1752; and which originated from the claims of Chunda Saib, in oppofition to our ally Mahomed Ally Cawn, the prefent Nabob of Arcot; from which period the Englifh may be confidered as Sovereigns. In the fchool of this able officer the late Lord Clive received his military education. Fort St. George, or Madras, rifes, as has been already intimated, from the margin of the fea, and is allowed by the ablefl engineers to be a place of confiderable ftrength. It was planned by the ingenious Mr. Robins, the author of Lord Anfon's Voyages, who was eminent for his general and philofophical, as well as for his mathematical knowledge. Since his time many works have been added. In Fort St. George are many handfome and fpacious flreets. The houfes may be confidered as elegant, and particularly fo from the beautiful material with which they are finifhed, the chunam. The inner apartments are not highly decorated, prefenting to the eye only white walls; which, however, from the marble-like appearance of the flucco, give a frefhnefs grateful in fo hot a country. Ceilings are very uncommon in the rooms. Indeed it is impoflible to find any which will refill the ravages of that deflruclive infect the white ant. Thefe animals are chiefly formidable from the immenfity of their numbers, which are fuch as to deftroy, in one night's time, a ceiling of any dimenfions. I faw an inflance in the ceiling to the portico of the Admiralty, or Governor's houfe, which fell in flakes of twenty feet fquare. It is the wood work which ferves for the bafis of the ceilings, fuch as the laths, beams, &c. that thefe infects attack ; and this will ferve to explain the circum-flance I have juft mentioned. The houfes on Choultry plain are many of them beautiful pieces of architecture, the apartments fpacious and magnificent. I know not that I ever felt more delight, than in going on a vifit to a family on Choultry plain, foon after my arrival at Madras, in the cool of the evening, after a very hot day. The moon fhone in its fulleft luflre, not a cloud overcafl the fky, and every houfe on the plain was illuminated. Each family, with their friends, were in the open porticoes, enjoying the breeze. Such a fcene appears more like a tale of enchantment than a reality, to the imagination of a ft ranger juft arrived. There are few objects to be met with here, which ferve to illuftrate the hiftory or characters of the original inhabitants of India. One, however, is too curious to be omitted, and that is a beautiful Hindoo Temple, or Pagoda, at Triplecane, two miles fouth of Madras. It is of confi-derable magnitude; and the top of the building rifing con- fiderably above the trees, it is feen all over the country. Adjoining to the temple is a large tank, with fteps defending to the bottom, filled with water. The whole is of flone, and the mafonry excellent. On the furface of the temple are many baffo relievos, which I fuppofe to relate to the religion of the Hindoos; but whether they are connected with the rites and worfhip of Bramah or not, I am not able to fay: for fome of them are of the mofl indecent kind. I made an accurate drawing of this building, which was fent to England, and loft on board the General Barker Eaft In-diaman, when that fhip was wrecked on the coaft of Holland, in 1781 ; but as I have made drawings of other Hindoo temples, I lefs lament the lofs. The annexed plate, a view of the great Pagoda at Tanjore, is from a picture which I painted from an accurate drawing made by Mr. Topping, an ingenious friend of mine, now on a furvey of the coaft of Coromandel for the Hon. the Eaft India Company, and will ferve to give the reader a general idea of thefe efforts of Indian architecture. a view of the Great pa<;ooa m tanjokk. //y.V, /A,//,',,,.//*,.,,, ,,/.>,;■/„>,■ .A*,,',,/.;//y //,'M;/y,:, /I..I. l...iin. I'ii I >l 11 • <-• I l;v I t&WKX&i hill Mull. .1:. tA i. 171),;. \ CHAP. II. Voyage to Bengal—Defcription of the Fort and Town of Calcutta—Route from Calcutta to the Plains of Plaffey_Defcription of that memorable Spot—The Author's Progrefs through the Country—Ruins of a Zananah—Cataracl of Mootejerna—Happinefs of India—Defcription of Bauglepoor —Town and Fort of Mongheir—Remarks on the Mode of travelling in India—Voyage back to Calcutta on the Ganges— Temples—Females bathing—Singular Appearance by Night. A FTER refiding a year at Madras, as no profpect pre-fented itfelf of feeing and making drawings in the interior part of the country, I determined to purfue my voyage to Bengal: and as I found my health on the decline, I entertained thoughts of returning to Europe by the following feafon. I embarked in February, 1781, and arrived in the Ganges in March. A change of air and a fea voyage frequently produces a happy alteration in the conflitutions of valetudinarians in India; and I accordingly found that on my arrival in Bengal my health was perfectly re-eflab-lifhed. The appearance of the country on the entrance of the Ganges, or Houghly River (this being only a branch of the Great Ganges) is rather unpromifing; a few bufhes at the water's edge, forming a dark line, juft marking the diftinclion between iky and water, are the only objects to be feen. As the fhip approaches Calcutta the river narrows; that which is called the Garden Reach, prefents a view of hand-fome buildings, on a flat furrounded by gardens: thefe are villas belonging to the opulent inhabitants of Calcutta. The veffel has no fooner gained one other reach of the river than the whole city of Calcutta burfls upon the eye. This capital of the Britifh dominions in the Eaft is marked by a confiderable fortrefs, on the fouth fide of the river, which is allowed to be, in ftrength and correctnefs of defign, fuperior to any in India. On the fore ground of the picture is the water-gate of the fort, which reflects great honour on the talents of the engineer—the ingenious Colonel Polier. The glacis and efplanade are feen in perfpective, bounded by a range of beautiful and regular buildings ; and a confiderable reach of the river, with veffels of various claffes and fizes, from the largefl Indiamen to the fmalleft boat of the country, clofes the fcene. A plate, reprefenting this view, from a picture taken on the fpot, and admirably engraved by Mr. Byrne, an artifl whofe reputation is not to be raifed by any eulogium in this place, is annexed. A European lands here in the midfl of a great city, without paffing the outer draw-bridges of a fort: here are no centinels with the keen eye of fufpicion, no ftoppage of I.omlon.riil.lillu'.l l»v .l.l.ilwid-.ls. I'.ill Mall..lai.rr'170.1. 585 baggage. The hofpitality which a flranger experiences from the inhabitants, and particularly from thofe to whom he is recommended, correfponds exactly with the freedom of his admilTion into the city ; and the kindnefs which I experienced on this occafion from my much lamented friend Henry Davies, Efq. late Advocate General of Bengal, can never be forgotten. The city of Calcutta extends from the Weftern point of Fort William, along the banks of the river, almoft to the village of CofTipoor: that is about four and a half Englifh miles. The breadth in many parts is inconfiderable. The ftreets are broad; the line of buildings, furrounding two fides of the efplanade of the fort, is magnificent; and it adds greatly to the fuperb appearance, that the houfes are detached from each other, and infulated in a great fpace. The buildings are all on a large fcale, from the necefhty of having a free circulation of air, in a climate the heat of which is extreme. The general approach to the houfes is by a flight of fteps, with great projecting porticoes, or furrounded by colonades or arcades, which give them the appearance of Grecian temples; and indeed every houfe may be confidered as a temple dedicated to hofpitality. Calcutta, from a fmall and inconfiderable fort, which yet remains (and in which is the famous black-hole, fo fatal to many of our countrymen in 1756), and a few ware- houfes, was foon raifed to a great and opulent city, when the government of the kingdom of Bengal fell into the hands of the Englifh. For its magnificence, however, it is indebted folely to the liberal fpirit and excellent taffe of the late Governor General; and it muff be confeffed, that the firfl houfe was raifed by Mr. Haffings which deferves the name of a piece of architecture: in fact, it is even in a purer flyle than any that has been built fmce, although it is on a fmaller fcale than many others. The mixture of European and Afiatic manners, which may be obferved in Calcutta, is curious:—coaches, photons, fingle horfe chaifes, with the pallankeens and hackeries of the natives—the paffing ceremonies of the Hindoos—the different appearances of the fakirs—form a fight perhaps more novel and extraordinary than any city in the world can prefent to a ftranger. Some views in the city of Calcutta, publifhed by Mr. Daniel, are highly to be commended for their accuracy. A few weeks after my arrival in Bengal, an opportunity offered itfelf, which I immediately embraced, to make drawings of part of the country, as high as Mongheir, on the Ganges, a diftance of three hundred Englifh miles ; and I proceeded on this journey in the middle of the month of April following, by dauk bearers (in a pallankeen) or pal-lankeen carriers. Thefe are perfons hired by government, • INDIA. 17 and fixed at the feveral ftages or polls for facilitating travelling : each fiage, on an average, may be ten Englifh miles. The number of. perfons are ufually nine, with two additional men or boys, to carry baggage and lights in the night, called inofloljees, from the name of the lights, moflol. From the apparent flate of a country, a jufl eflimate may generally be formed of the happinefs or the mifery of a people. Where there is neatnefs in the cultivation of the land, and that land tilled to the utmoft of its boundaries, it may reafonably be fuppofed that the government is the protector and not the oppreffor of the people. Throughout the kingdom of Bengal it appears highly flourifhing in tillage of every kind, and abounding in cattle. The villages are neat and clean, and filled with fwarms of people. There are few objects to attract the attention of the curious traveller from Calcutta, until he reaches the plains of Plafley. This fpot to every reflecting Englifhman muff be highly interesting, when he confiders that on this theatre, in the month of June, 1757, was difputed the exiflenceof his countrymen in Bengal, even as merchants. The great abilities difplayed by Lord Clive previous to the battle of Plaffey, as well as in that action, both as a general and a politician, undoubtedly entitle him to the high reputation which is attached to his memory; fince on that plain was laid the foundation of an empire in India, the influence of d which has extended over a larger tract of country, and greater numbers of people, than have been united under any one government fince the time of Aurungzebe. At Plaffey is a houfe which was once a hunting feat of the Nabob of Bengal: it is diflant from Calcutta about feventy Englilh miles, and fomewhat more than thirty from Moorfhedabad. In Moorfhedabad there are few buildings of note: the mofl confiderable is the remains of the Cut-terah. This was formerly a publick feminary for men of learning among the Muffelmans; but it has long fince gone to decay. It confifts of a large fquare area, each fide of which is fomewhat more than feventy feet in length, fur-rounded by a cloyfler, divided into fingle rooms, crowned with a dome, and one window in each. In the center on the fide oppofite the entrance was a mofque, raifed con-fiderably above the buildings on either fide : the extreme angles on that fide wrier-1 the mofque was fituated are terminated by two towers, rifing feveral feet higher than the rell of the building. This building was erected by Jafher Cawn, the Nabob of Bengal, in the early part of the prefent century; who, from the mildnefs of his manners, his love of learning, and Uriel attention to juflice, was the mofl: popular nobleman who ever held that office in Bengal under the Mogul government. Moorfliedabad was the feafc of his refidence, and to this place he invited men of talents. On the op-pofite fide of the river is the tomb of Aliverdi Cawn, the grandfather of Suraja Dowlah, fo well known for his hatred to the Englifh, and his con duel to his prifoners on the taking of Calcutta in 1756.* This is an oblong building, * When the fort of Calcutta was clofely befieged by Suraja Dowlah, Mr. Drake, the governor, and many others, with fcveral ladies of the fettlement, efcaped to the Englifh fhips then lying off the town, and which fhips fell down as low as Fnlta, one third of the diftance to the mouth of the river, where they remained for feven months, in the greateft diftrefs, both for provisions and every other article of neceffarics. Mr. Gregory, a gentleman fince well known in the political world, and particularly for his knowledge in India affairs, and many years a Director of the Eaft India Company in London, ventured in a very heavy gale of wind, in a country boat, to pafs Calcutta, and proceeded to Char-denagore, to folicit affiftance from the French governor, who received him with all the perfonal politenefs that is the mark of that nation, but without offering any thing to remove the diftrefs of the Englifh at Fulta. From the French Mr. Gregory proceeded to the Dutch fettlement at Chinfurah, where he was received with unaffected good manners and friendlinefs. After relating the diftreffes his countrymen laboured under, the Dutch governor prepared for their relief; and his lady went round the fettlement and procured linen and other articles, for the accommodation and comfort of the ladies ; and, in the courfe of two days, the governor difpatched a floop, under the care of Mr. Van Staten, their commander in chief, to the Englifh, loaded with feveral articles of provifions, many chefts of wine, and twenty leaguers of arrack, for the ufe of the people. At the fame time this humanity was fhewn to the people on board the fhips, the governor's houfe was fo filled with the diftreffed that had efcaped from Calcutta, that he and his family were obliged to fleep on board a budgerow in the river. The name of the Dutch governor, Mr. Adrian Bifdam, muft ever be remembered by the Englifh with rcfpecX d 2 crowned with five domes ; the center one much larger than the others, and the two extremes lefs than the intermediate. This pyramidal form is ufual in all the buildings of the Eaft, whether Moorifh or Hindoo: fo minutely attentive have they been to this, that a mofque at Chunar, being tried with a cord flretchcd from the fummit of the center building, the cord has been found to touch the extremes at the outer wall that inclofes the building. During the usurpation of Aliverdi Cawn, his wars with the Marhattas, who were continually over-running the country, left him little lei-fure for the embellifhment of the city, however he might have been difpofed. The road proceeds from Moorfhedabad through the villages of Jungepoor and Sooty, to Oodooanullah. This road is croffed by feveral nullahs/r fome of which have ferry boats ftationed at them, to accommodate the traveller. At the lafl mentioned place is a bridge, built by Sultan Sujah, the fecond fon of the Emperor Shah Iehan,* who was appointed Subah of the province of Bengal, one hundred and thirty years ago. This is one of the mofl elegant fpecimens in architecture of thofe times; and it has become famous in ours by the victory obtained over the troops of Mcer Cof-fim, in the year 1764, by the late Major Adams. This + Nullahs are fmall ftrcams, or brooks. * The Emperor Shah Iehan began his reign in the year 1627, and reigned thirty-two years. He was depofed by his third fon, the famous Allumgire ; better known in Europe by the name of Aurungzebe. victory was facilitated by an accident that happened on the bridge : the carriage of one of the enemy's large pieces of artillery broke down, and flopping the retreat, threw them into confufion. Oodooanullah is two miles from Rajemahel; and Rajemahel is nearly eighty miles from Moorfhedabad: it lies on the weflern bank of the Ganges, which is high and bold, and at the foot of a chain of hills. The fituation is elfeemed unhealthy, from the forefts in its neighbourhood. It was the feat of the government of Bengal, under Sultan Sujah, and it continued to be his refidence until he fell in the conteff for the empire with his brother Aurungzebe. The numberlefs ruins found at and in the neighbourhood, evinced his paflion for building ; and the great extent of many of them affords a proof of his fplendor and magnificence. There yet remains a part of the palace: which was fupported by vafl octangular piers, raifed from the edge of the river. The great hall yet remains, with fome letler apartments, as well as the principal gate leading to the palace: thefe are furrounded by immenfe maffes of ruins. This palace, in the time of Sultan Sujah, was nearly deffroyed by fire: the zananah, or that part inhabited by the females of his family, was totally defiroyed. A tradition prevails in this part of the country, that more than three hundred women fell a facrifice to modefty on this occafion; none of them daring to fave themfelves, from the apprehenfion of being feen by the men. At a lit- tie diftance from Rajemahel are the ruins of a zananah, which I went from curiofity to infpect, as they are when inhabited facred places ; and I was gratified extremely to obferve the perfect accuracy in the Hindottan pictures which reprefent them. The annexed plate is from an old picture of one which I met with in India. It may not be improper to remark, while I am upon this fubjecl, that when the Mogul government was in the plenitude of its power, it was an object with the Omrahs, or great Lords of the court, to hold captive in their zananahs even hundreds of females, collected from various quarters of the empire, and particularly fo from Cafhmire, a country famous for the beauty of its women.* From Rajemahel the publick road continues by the fide of the river, at the foot of the hills, to the pafs of Sicri Gully, whence it enters the province of Bahar. This pafs, in the time of the Hindoo and Mogul governments was the commanding entrance from Bahar into the kingdom of Bengal, and was formerly fortified with a ffrong wall and gate, the ruins of which yet remain. What muff fhew the inutility of fuch fortifications, and the wifdom of the Britifh government in fuffering them to go to * I cannot but here obferve that, from the clofe confinement of the Maho-mcdan women, there reigns in the zananahs a refined fpirit of intrigue unknown in Europe in the prefent day. Many accounts are to be found of fuch in the old Spanifh novels, which may be accounted for from the Spaniards retaining cuftoms and prejudices eftablifhed among them by their Moorifh conquerors, long after their expulfion in the fifteenth century. / THE 1WSS of SU'lll OVLLTfrom lH'Xi\L catering into the Province of HAH All ^U^^OS^* R.J. l...li.l..i.,l'ul.|in.r.l l,v .I.K.Uv.u-.Ik.I'mII M:ill„l.,.i'v - decay, is the eafe with which they are eluded; for, in the year 1742-3, the whole Mahratta army, confiding of fifty thoufand men, under Bofchow Pundit, palfed through the hills above Colgong, and to the fouth-wefl of this pafs into Bengal. On the top of the hill is a ruined tomb of a MufTul-man fied, or faint. The whole fcene appeared to me highly picturefque; a plate, therefore, is given of this view, as it marks the general character of this part of the country. At this place I was met by a party of feapoys, fent by my much lamented and revered friend, the late Auguflus Cleveland, Efq. then collector of the diftrifts of Rajemahel and Bauglepoor, to efcort me to the falls of Mootejerna in the hills, about four cofs, or eight Englifh miles inland from the river. From the height of the hills, thefe cafcades are clearly feen, in the time of the rains, the river being then near thirty feet higher than in the dry feafon, and the falls confiderably increafed. The road, or rather path, is through the jungles, or woods; and when rain has lately fallen in the hills, the noife of the cataract is diftinctly heard at the diftance of two Englifh miles. It confifls of two falls, which taken together, the perpendicular height meafures one hundred and five feet. The water, falling over vafl mafles of rocks, is received in a bafon below, and continues running through fragments of the rock, rent from above, until it is loft in the Ganges. At the bottom of the lower fall is a great hollow cave, which is eafily entered from either fide, and the water is feen from within, forming part of the arc of a great cir- cle before. In the interior part of this cave, which may be thirty feet from the front of the rock, the bafe appears to be a mixture of rock and charcoal; that is, the interflices of the rock appear filled with charcoal, and many fragments broken off are compofed equally of the two materials. For the fat is facl ion of others I brought away with me two large pieces, which I afterwards fhewed to feveral ingenious gentlemen in Calcutta. The place itfelf, it is true, is held in fuperftitious veneration by the common people of the country ; and it is polfible fome religious ceremonies may have palled here, but it is fcarcely probable that any fire ufed in fuch ceremonies could have produced fuch effects. After returning to Sicri Gully, I continued my route acrofs the pafs of Terriagully, from the top of which a beautiful fcene opens itfelf to the view; namely, the meandering of the river Ganges through the flat country, and glittering through an immenfe plain, highly cultivated, as far as the extent of the horizon, where the eye is almoff at a lofs to difcriminate the termination of fky and land. From the pafs of Terriagully the road continues by the river fide, opening in extenfive glades, covered with a fine turf, and only interfperfed with woods, confiding of timber trees of confiderable magnitude, which, from the great heat and moiflure in this part of India, (like all other vegetable productions of the country) continue verdant through a great part of the year. After this the road Ikirts the woods, and under great trees, which are filled with a variety of birds of beautiful colours, many of them of the parrot tribe; and, amongfl others, peacocks in abundance, which fitting on the vaft horizontal branches, and difplaying their varied plumage to the fun, dazzle the eyes of the traveller as he pafles. In this route many inferior rivers are paffed, that feed the waters of the Great Ganges, which, at this feafon of the year, are very low; and the fleepnefs of many of their banks renders the carriage extremely troublefome to the pallankeen bearers. At Colgong .there is a confiderable ffream, that falls into the Ganges, which by its continued force, and particularly in the time of the periodical rains, has detached two large rocks, and formed them into iflands, covered with woods, full feventy yards from the fhore. There is a paf-fage between the iflands and the fhore filled with funken rocks, which form violent eddies. The paffage is fometimes only to be effected by fmall boats; and in the time of the rains is efteemed exceedingly dangerous. I knew an in-flance in which it had nearly proved fatal. The country about Colgong is, I think, the mofl beautiful I have feen in India. The waving appearance of the land, its fine turf and detached woods, backed by the ex-tenfive forefls on the hills, brought to my mind many of the fine parks in England; and its overlooking the Ganges, which has more the appearance of an ocean at this place than of a river, gives the profpect. inexpreffible grandeur. From this place my route was continued to the village of Sultungunge; oppofite to which, in the river, is the fmall rfland of Jangerah, or, according to fome authors, Jehan-gueery. This illand is a rock, with a few trees growing from its interftices, and on the top is a fmall hermitage, inhabited by a Hindoo monk. The fituation this holy father has chofen is certainly a proof of his tafte and of his judgment; for, from the top, he has a moft extenfive profpe£t of the country and river; and in the fummer heats it muff be cooler than any fituation in its neighbourhood. This rock is confidered bv the Hindoos as a facred place; and on many parts of it are pieces of feulpture relative to their mythology. I am concerned I cannot pay fo high a compliment to the art of feulpture among the Hindoos as is ufually paid by many ingenious authors who write on the religion of Bramah. Confidering thefe works, as I do, with the eyes of an artifT, they are only to be paralleled with the rude efTays of the ingenious Indians I have met with in Otaheite, and on other iflands in the South Seas. The time when thefe fculptures were produced I believe is not eafy to afcertain; but thus much is certain, that the more modern works in feulpture of human figures, by the Hindoos, lay claim to very little more merit than the ancient productions. Some ornaments, however, that I have feen on * i l.mi.l.in , ri.l.liiW-,1 l.v .1. |-:v:,,.,U, Mm 11 J I .i-V >.■ 7;M Hindoo temples are beautifully carved: but of this I fhall have occafion to fpeak hereafter, when I treat of the fubject of Hindoo architecture. I proceeded from Sultungunge to Bauglepoor, where my purfuits were promoted with a degree of liberality that peculiarly marked the mind of the gentleman who then governed this diflricl; and of whom, in common gratitude, I muff ever fpeak with veneration and efleem. At the entrance of the town of Bauglepoor, I made a drawing of a banyan tree, of which a plate is annexed. This is one of thofe curious productions in nature which cannot fail to excite the attention of the traveller. The branches of this tree having moots depending from them, and taking root, again produce, and become the parents of others. Thefe trees, in many inftances, cover fuch an extent of ground, that hundreds of people may take fhelter under one of them from the fcorching rays of the fun. The care that was taken in the government, and the minute attention to the happi-nefs of the people, rendered this diflri6t, at this time, (1781) a perfect paradife. It was not uncommon to fee the manufacturer at his loom, in the cool made, attended by his friend foftening his labour by the tender llrains of mufic. There are to be met with in India many old piclurcs repre-fenting fimilar fubjects, in the happy times of the Mogul government. c 2 The fituation of the Refident's houfe, built by Mr. Cleveland, is on a very elevated fpot: it is on the banks of a nullah, forming a large ifland, bounded by the Ganges on one fide, and the nullah encircling the other: the ifland is about four miles acrofs. On the other fide is a beautiful park-like country, with clumps of great trees, feparated by , glades; the whole bounded by wood. This place owes its principal beauty to the good tade of Mr. Cleveland. From Bauglepoor to Mongheir, is between thirty and forty Englifh miles. The roads are good, the country highly cultivated, and the villages neat. Along the fide of the road are the burial places of the MufTulrnans ; for they, like the ancient Greeks, always bury by or near the highways: thofe of the common people are mounds of earth, covering the whole length of the body, with a fmall fquare column at the head, about three feet high, and another, not more than eighteen inches, at the feet: thofe of fuperior rank have maufoleums, decorated in proportion to the wealth or munificence of the family. It is a cuffom with the women of the family to attend thefe tombs of their friends, or neareft and mod valued relations, after fun-fet; and it is both affecting and curious to fee them proceeding in groups, carrying lamps in their hands, which they place at the head of the tomb : the effe6l, confidered in a piclurefque light, is highly beautiful; with that of fentiment, it is delightful. A print of this fubje6t is fubjoined. MAHOMMKDAN WOMEN attending tlie TO Mil S of their Parent!, Relatives, or Friends,at NKJHT. LonH..i.,l'„l,lin,.-.| |.y J. Kilwar.l.. M«ll,.l «n " ■ .1 Mongheir is a large Indian town, with an old fort. One fide of the fort is flanked by the Ganges, and that to the land by a wide and deep ditch. There are three principal gates; one on the fide next the river, another on the eaft fide, and another on the fouth. That to the eaft appears to have been very ilrong: the walls are flanked with fquare towers, in the old ftile of caflles; many fimilar ruins being now to be found in England. The fort was built in the middle of the latl century, by Sultan Sujah; but the place is famous for being a military flation many centuries back.* The area within the walls of the fort is very confiderable ; it is generally made a ftation for a part of the Englifh troops; and there is a houfe here for the commanding officer, built by the late General Goddard. From Calcutta to Mongheir the face of the country is extremely varied, Bengal, however, to the entrance into the province of Bahar, is almoft a perfect flat, or the rife is fo gentle as not to be perceived. The foil is rich, confifling chiefly of a black earth, intermixt with fine fand. From Rajemahel it affumes a different character; hills are feen rifing in many parts into mountains, and covered with im-menfe forefts of timber: the foil here is alfo more arid, and the air drier, than in the lower parts of Bengal. The heat * On this fpot was found, a few years back, a brafs plate, with a Sanfchrite inferiptioq of a grant, as early as the firfl: century of ChriQianity. in the months of March, April, and May, is immoderate ; and, until it becomes tempered by the rains that conftantly fall in June and July, it is dreadful to the bearers of the pallankeens to travel in the middle of the day : the duff and heat are then, indeed, fo intolerable, that they are frequently under the neceflity of putting down their burthens, and fhel-tering themfelves beneath the (hade of the banyan trees, many of which are found on the road, particularly by the fide of wells, or fome little choultry on the borders of a tank. The number of thefe rural accommodations for travellers re-flecl the higheft credit on the care of the old Hindoo and Moor-ifh governments. It is particularly mentioned in the life of the Emperor Shere Shah, that, although a ufurper who obtained the empire by the molt atrocious a£ts, he paid the molt humane attention to the comforts and accommodations of his people. He caufed wTells to be dug at every cofs, ("or two miles) and trees to be planted on the road fide. At many of thefe wells have I halted in my journies. They are, in general, from ten to fourteen feet in diameter, and lined with ftone: the mafonry excellent; and they are raifed from the furface of the ground by a little wall two feet high. I fliould have remarked that, throughout Bengal and Bahar, the water is excellent. It is extremely pleafant to obferve the variety of travellers that are to be met with on the road; either palling along in groups, under the fhade of fome fpreading tree, by the fide of the wells or tanks. 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