Brahmá should be together observed by the same individual, performs them both, will, by means of the latter, overcome indigence, and will attain the state of Prakriti, through the practice of the former. 15th. "Thou hast, O Sun," (says to the sun a person agitated on the approach of death, who during his life attended to the performance of religious rites, neglecting the attainment of a knowledge of God)" thou hast, O Sun, concealed by thy illuminating body the way to the true being, who rules in thee. Take off that vei! for the guidance of me thy true devotee." 16th. "O thou," (continues he) "who nourishest the world, movest singly, and who dost regulate the whole mundane system-O Sun, Son of Cushyup, disperse thy rays for my passage, and withdraw thy violent light, so that I may by thy grace behold thy most prosperous aspect." Why should I" (says he again retracing himself on reflecting upon the true divine nature) "why should I entreat the sun, as I am what he is," that is, "the being who rules in the sun rules also in me." 17th. "Let my breath," resumes he, "be absorbed after death into the wide atmosphere, and let this my body be burnt to ashes. O my intellect, think now on what may be beneficial to me. O fire, remember what religious rites I have hitherto performed." 18th. "illuminating fire," continues he, "observing all our religious practices, carry us by the right path to the enjoyment of the consequence of our deeds, and put an end to our sins; we being now unable to perform thy various rites, offer to thee our last salutation."* *This example from the Véds, of the unhappy agitation and wavering of an idolater on the approach of death, ought to make men reflect seriously on the miserable consequence of fixing their mind on any other object of adoration, but the one supreme being. REMARKS DURING A JOURNEY TO KANDY. Extract of a Letter from a Gentleman in the Governor's Suite at Kandy. I had scarce entered the Kandyan country when my attention and admiration were excited in viewing the bold and picturesque scenery successively presenting itself to notice. As I proceeded in the road to Ruanwella, convenience for travelling was marked by the recent construction of flat bridges, formed apparently on an economical plan, to enable the palankeen bearers with facility to traverse a low tract of country intersected by numerous watercourses from the hills on each side. Agreeable was my surprise, on arriving at Ruanwella, to see favorable proofs of the new government. Instead of an ineffective Kandyan Fort, I saw a new one in a state of forwardness, having within it comfortable habitations and convenient storehouses, and the jungle cleared away, within a certain distance on all sides; and below the fort, near the river, a neat street well inhabited and supplied with articles of provision and merchaudize had succeeded the former waste. On my journey from Ruanwella, I soon began to see marks of ingenious cultivation, and ease and cheerfulness in the countenances of the natives, who, in addition, testified by every mode in their power, from the chief to the labourer, their respect towards the Governor, which conduct on the part of the natives continued in full force during our journey to the capital. The stage from Ruanwella to Idalmalpane presented many beauties; and the repaired and widened road, and bridges newly constructed, give agreeable facility to our travelling. While at breakfast at the latter place, the natives descended from among the hills in numbers, bringing with them fruits and sweetmeats in testimony of their homage. The striking variety of foliage, and different shapes and heights of hills covered with trees, together with waterfalls and grotesque rocks, constantly struck our eyes on our road to the next stage Hittymoelle; and no pains or ingenuity seem to have been lost in cultivating on each side of the road the smallest and most difficult longer formidable to a burthened pass senger. On reaching Amnapoora, I was again struck with admiration at beholding a new fort, and below it a capacious spot for officers and soldiers with comfortable accommodations, and also a new street with a good bazar. The thermometer in the morning was so low as 64, and we were under the necessity overnight to shut the doors and windows while sitting at table. The scenery at this place also is beautiful and grand, the troops in good health, and the garden of the commandant supplied with European vegetables in high perfection. Some of the chieftains visited the Governor at this place, and the other natives crowded with their humble but hearty presents. spots of ground. On our arrival at the post of Atapitea fresh wonders presented themselves; a new fort and town suddenly appearing amongst mountains which till lately contained nothing but wild animals, and some scattered villages almost inaccessible. Here, on the top of a hill of considerable height, but small in circumference, though sufficiently large for the purpose, have the excellent professional judgment and taste of Capt. King been put most successfully to the test by the erection of a fortified post, the whole having been conceived by himself and assented to by the Governor. No loftier hill, within distance of danger, commands this envied spot; the necessary buildings are in a state of considerable forwardness, and much has been done with small means and expense. The timber trees, which were too near, have been cut down, to the amount, I believe, of three thousand, and this fort, which commands the river Maha Oya and all the paths leading to it, will be a lasting memorial of Capt. King's ability and perseverance, and some pillars of earth are reserved to indicate the varieties and inequalities of ground which he cut away on the top of the hill. Below this fort a considerable village seems to have arisen, as if in compliment to the founder of the fort. Here also I had the satisfaction to see some Kandyan headmen assisting in the work with indications of cheerful zeal, and apparently looking with anxious expectation of the governor's thanks and approbation, in which they were not disappointed. It is not in my power to give an adequate description of the beauties of the scenery at this spot; hills, wood, water, give a rich grandeur around, and the range of the Balaney hills bound the prospect in one direction. Leaving this place we pursued our journey towards the Balaney Pass, gratified as we went by magnificent views and the satisfaction evinced in the countenances of the natives, who sallied from the villages to see the travellers. Through the perseverance and activity of Major Bayley who commands at Amnapoora, on the top of, or rather beyond, the Balaney Pass, the worst parts of the old road up the mountains have been avoided by turning the course in easier directions, so that this famous and ouce difficult pass is no On our road from Amnapoora to Kandy we had fresh proofs of being welcome to the inhabitants; cultivation increased to the eye, and population was evidently more numerous. My wonder was greatly excited on entering Kandy, where instead of a depopulated town I had the pleasure of witnessing numerous long streets fully inhabited, and well supplied with provisions and merchandise. The industrious moormen of Colombo have contributed essentially to the trading part, and I understand that there are now in this town at least two hundred Colombo moor people. There is a regular police here, with patroles and constables. The beef and veal at this place are remarkably fine and easily procured. The natives bring all their productions wil lingly for sale, and they now readily take our paper money, preferring the small notes to copper. A general confidence seems to prevail here, the chiefs and priests seem most harmoniously inclined, and every thing appears as regular and quiet as if it had been an English settlement for a century. The polite courtesy to Lady Brownrigg exemplified by the chiefs prove them polished and considerate. I am convinced that if the same mode of conciliation, honor and justice be continued towards the natives, we shall bind them in close attachment to the English character; and in time our example must have its due effect upon their own conduct. METHOD OF RENEWING THE GIOHAR, OR FLOWERY GRAIN OF PERSIAN SWORDS, COMMONLY CALLED DAMASCUS BLADES, By MR. S. BARKER, His Britannic Majesty's Consul General at Aleppo. HAVING bought two Kermani Dabans, and perceiving that some parts of them had a yellowish tint, by which they were disfigured, I employed a sword-cutler to renew their Giohar. The operation was performed in my presence, before sun-rise, which he said was necessary, because too strong a light would prevent his distinguishing whether the blade were equally red hot; on the perfect equality of which depended the success of the process, for it was that failure which had caused the yellow spots above mentioned. He prepared a wooden trough the length of the blades, four or five inches broad, with equal depth, full of liquid composition made of equal quantities of surege or sesamum oil, mutton suet, virgin wax, and Persian Naft (Naptha), or rather the dregs of the latter, it being too costly an article. He began by making a charcoal fire in a small earthen vessel, which after being well alight, he strewed on the ground in the form of a blade, and put loose stones all round to keep it together. He then fanned it till it was red hot all over, and laid the blade flat on the lighted coals, having first bent the handle for the convenience of holding it, by a pair of pinchers. He then completely covered the blade with fresh charcoal unburnt, and continued to fan it with a large Turkish feather fan as equally and as forcibly as possible, until the latter charcoal had become as red as the first. When he judged (what experience alone can teach) that it was now sufficiently hot to be plunged into the trough above described, he seized the proper moment; and on this depends the success of the operation, for if the blade remain a little too long in the fire, the Giohar will be entirely effaced, or if it is not hot enough, or uneqally so, it will have the defect that we were endeavouring to remove. When he plunged the blade into the trough, it seemed to me of the colour of a soldier's dirty coat, or cherry red. In plunging it he was anxious that no part of the blade should touch the composition but at the instant the whole was immersed. It lay in the trough a few minutes to cool. He then took it out and laid it upon the coals, fanning it an instant to set the grease that stuck on it on fire, and when it smoaked no longer, he let it again grow cool, and then scraped off gently with the back of a knife, the ashes of the stuff that still adhered to it. The charcoal employed was in pieces of from half to three quarters of an inch square, more or less; the best sort is made of deal, and it must be fresh or virgin, for it will not do if it has been lighted and extinguished. I observed that he fanned the blade more at the thicker parts than towards the point. The composition in the trough serves for a great number of blades, and is better the older it grows, requiring only to be replenished as the quantity diminishes. The blade having been a little crooked in the tempering, it was straightened, and then gently passed on a circular whetstone. It was then polished. He laid it on a board, with a piece of wood forcibly rubbed emery powder and oil on it, and lastly, burnished it with a bit of iron till it was quite bright, and could not be distinguished from a common English sabre. The operation of polishing took up five or six hours. He then made use of lime to take off the oil, and was extremely careful not to touch it with his hands, as its being perfectly free from grease is essential to its taking well the Giohar. To secure that point further he rubbed tobacco ashes and water on it. He then prepared a horse bucket full of clear water, and a small Turkish leaden drinking cup (porcelain or glass would do as well, but no other metal than lead). In this cup he dissolved in a few minutes a little zagh* and pure water. Then with the ends of his fingers he basted the blade with rapidity up and down, and seemed anxious that it should be served all equally, and as much as possible at once. Every two or three minutes he washed the blade with the water in the bucket, and repeated the operation of the zagh water eight or ten times, that is until he perceived the Giohar did not become more distinct after fresh tending with the zagh. He then wiped it dry and oiled it; and when this last operation is performed in the winter, the water in which the zagh is dissolved should have the chill taken off. 5. 7. The names of the different sorts of Damascus blades are as follow, classed according to their relative value:-1. Kermani Daban. 2. Lahori Karà Khorasán. 3. Lahori Neiris. 4. Dishi Daban. Herkek Daban. 6. Elif Stambool. Eakd Sham. 8. Barjaz Khorasan. 9. Sari Hindi. 10. Korun Hindi. There are swords also like Persian gun barrels, only plated or cased with the sort of steel that takes the Giohar; but they are easily distinguished by carefully examining the back of the sword. The art of founding the metal of which the Persian blades are made is lost, although it is still met with in lumps, which shew from their form that they were cast in moulds.+ ty of its water by use or rust, and have Force a stick into the muzzle of suffi- The art of composing (for it is certainly a composition) the steel of Persian sword blades is undoubtedly lost, but I have been told, that the iron of their gun and pistol barrels is still manufactured in some towns of Persia and Turkey. These moulds are worked into blades for swords, daggers and knives, but are sometimes not sufficiently malleable for any purpose, probably because the art of properly working them is also lost with that of their original cast or composition, for it appears not to be a simple or uncompounded metal. Directions for renewing the water of and again drawn out, and so on till the Persian gun-barrels. Take a barrel that has lost the regulari The zagh made use of by the sword-cutlers here is procured from the mountains of the Druzes, and from no where else; it is produced by a mineral spring near a place called Ghazir. It may be doubted whether the Persians ever possessed the art of smelting the fine metal of Damascus blades. It is not probable that so lucrative a knowledge would have become entirely extinct, whilst we know that the Wootz of India is brought to England in lumps cast in hemispherical moulds.-Ed. Asiatic Journ.-No. 29. I was assured, that it is done by entwining together certain proportions of steel and iron drawn out to great length, two metals become incorporated, which on undergoing the operation above described, shews not on its surface the waving flowery grain by which it is distinguished. If that is the case, it would seem, that the clay corroding only the impure particles of the composition, leaves the veins of steel in all their doublings exposed to the view, and in a slight degree to the touch. VOL. V. 3 P PRODUCTION OF LOCUSTS IN INDIA. ABOUT the 20th June 1812, a very large flight of locusts was observed hovering about Etawah, which at length settled in the fields east of the town, where they remained some time, and were seen copulating in vast numbers; they then took their departure, but continued to hover about the place for a month afterwards. On the 18th of July, while riding in that direction, I discovered a tremendous swarm of very small dark coloured insects in the vicinity of a large pool of stagnate water; they were collected in heaps, and covered the ground to a considerable distance. These, on minute inspection, proved to be locusts in miniature, but without wings. In this place they remained, hourly increasing in numbers, for some days, when the great body moved off, taking a direction towards the town of Etawah: they creeped and hopped along at a slow rate, until they reached the town, where they divided into different bodies, still however keeping nearly the same direction, covering and destroying every thing green in their progress, and distributing themselves all over the neighbourhood. The devastation daily committed by them being almost incalculable, the farmers were under the necessity of collecting as many people as they could, in the vain hope that they might preserve the crop by sweeping the swarm backwards, but as often as they succeeded in repelling them in one quarter, they approached in another; fires were then lighted all round the fields with the same view this had the effect of keeping them off for a short time, but sufficient fuel could not be supplied, and the moment the fires became extinguished, the insects rushed in like a torrent. Multitudes were destroyed by the birds, and many more by branches of trees, used by the farmers for that purpose, as well as by their being swept into large heaps, and consumed by fire, yet their numbers seemed nothing diminished. They so completely covered some mangoe trees, and the hedges surrounding the gardens, that the colour of the leaves could not be distinguished. They had no wings, and were about the size of small bees. They continued to creep along the ground, or hopped when their progress was interrupted. July 27.-They were increasing in size, and had overspread that part of the country in every direction. From the want of rain, and the overwhelming inroad of these insects, the farmers were nearly ruined. Nothing impeded their progress, they climbed up the highest trees and scrambled over walls, and notwithstanding the exertions of several people with brooms, the verandah and outer walls of the hospital were completely covered with them. They no longer continued to move in one particular direction, but paraded backwards and forwards, whereever they could find food. On the 28th of July, the rains set in with considerable violence; the locusts took shelter on trees and bushes, devouring every leaf within their reach, none seemed to suffer from the rain. On the 29th it did not rain, and the young swarm again were on the move, continuing their depredations; they were fast increasing in size, and equally lively as before the rain. It again rained on the 30th, and again the locusts took shelter on the trees and fences; several large flights of locusts passed over the cantonments, and I observed that the wings of the young ones began to appear. The head still retained the dark red colour, but the black lines on the body had become much fainter. Again on the 31st, large flights continued to pass, driven by the wind to the southward; of course very few alighted. They caused little mischief within our view. The wings of the young tribe (the whole four being now formed) were about one-eighth of an inch in length. After this time I made no particular observations on their progress, being otherwise engaged, but they disappeared in a few days.* * These extraordinary facts are communicated to us by an intelligent correspondent, who with some of the officers of the 14th Native Infantry, was an eye witness,-Ed. of Calc. Mag, |