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be the state of morals in a country, when its religious institutions and public shows at which the whole population is present, thus sanctify vice, and carry the multitude into the very gulph of depravity and ruin!

Mr. Orme, the elegant historian of the early military conquests of the British in India, in his preface to that valuable work, depicts the gentle Hindoo, as shuddering at the sight of blood, and as of a pusillanimity easy to be accounted for by the great delicacy of his configuration. His manners he affirms to be mild, his habits domestic, and his amusements innocent. The whole voice of antiquity, too, bears testimony to this gentleness of deportment, except in the war-tribe alone, to their high attainments in virtue, particularly their justice and temperance, which they represent as of the most rigid kind; and the only exception to this character seems to be the dreadful suicidal rite to which they sometimes devoted themselves, and an example of which occurred in the camp of Alexander, when Calanus voluntarily ascended the funeral pile. According to the statements of the present author, the Hindoo character seems to have suffered, since that remote æra, a dreadful change. The accounts here given of their more than savage barbarity, is of so terrific a nature as to make one's very blood run cold.

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women too, who drag their dying relations to the banks of the river at all seasons, day and night, and expose them to the heat and cold in the last agonies of death, without remorse: - who assist men to commit self-murder, encouraging them to swing with hooks in their backs, to pierce their tongues and sides, to cast themselves on naked knives, to bury themselves alive, throw themselves into rivers, from precipices, and under the cars of their idols; who murder their own children by burying them alive, throwing them to the alligators, or hanging them up alive in trees for the ants and crows before their own doors, or by sacrificing them to the Ganges;-who burn alive, amidst savage shouts, the heart-broken widow, by the hands of her own son, and with the corpse of a diseased father; who every year butcher thousands of animals at the call of suthou perstition, covering themselves with their blood, consiguing their carcases to the dogs, and carrying their heads in triumph through the streets? nignant Hindoos?-a people who have never erected a charity school, an almshouse, nor an hospital; who suffer their fellow creatures to perish for want before their very doors, refusing to adminiters to their wants while living, or to inter their bodies, to prevent their being dedead; who, when the power of the sword voured by vultures and jackals, when was in their hands, impaled alive, cut off the noses, the legs, and arms of culprits; and inflicted punishments exceeded only by those of the followers of hu in the Burman empire! and who very the mild, amiable, and benevolent Booddoften, in their acts of pillage, murder the plundered, cutting off their limbs with the most cold-blooded apathy, turngusting shambles! Some of these cruing the house of the murdered into a diselties, no doubt arise out of the religion of the Hindoos, and are the poisoned fruits of superstition, rather than the effects of natural disposition: but this is equally true respecting the virtues which have been so lavishly bestowed on this people. At the call of the shastru, the Hindoo gives water to the weary traveller during the month Voishakhu; but he may perish at his door withont pity or relief from the first of the following month, no reward being attached to such an act after these thirty days have expired. He will make roads, pools of water, and build lodging-houses for pilgrims and travellers; but he considers himself as making a good bargain with the gods in all these transactions. It is try made by Hindoos, except a few which a fact, that there is not a road in the counlead to holy places: and had there been

no future rewards held out for such acts of merit, even these would not have existed. Before the kulee-yoogn it was lawful to sacrifice cows; but the man who does it now, is guilty of a crime as heinous as that of killing a bramhun: he may kill a buffalo, however, and Doorga will reward him with heaven for it. A Hindoo, by any direct act, should not destroy an insect, for he is taught that God inhabits

even a fly: but it is no great crime if he should permit even his cow to perish with hunger and he beats it without mercy, though it be an incarnation of Bhuguvutee-it is enough that he does not really deprive it of life; for the indwelling Brumhu feels no stroke but that of death. The Hindoo will utter falsehoods that would knock down an ox, and will commit perjuries so atrocious and disgusting, as to fill with horror those who visit the courts of justice; but he will not violate his shastru by swearing on the waters of the Ganges.

The author now enters into an enumeration and history of the idol-gods of India, their character and attributes. In the first class

he ranks the primary elements,

FIRE, AIR, WATER, EARTH,

and SPACE, of which, and the heavenly bodies, the greater gods of India are, for the most part, personifications. The greater, or celestial gods, including the three great paramount divinities, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, are in number twenty-one. The inferior, or terrestrial gods, as Krishna, Rama, Jagahnat, and others, he is of opinion are deified mortals, and both the celestial and terrestrial deities have wives, so that it is a very crowded pantheon. It is remarkable, that to BRAHME, the GREAT ONE, of whom Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva are emanations, not a temple exists throughout all Hindostan. No act of worship is addressed to the supreme God: they think of him very darkly, and speak of him very confusedly. They have no idea of his performing any act of creation or providence, except through the agency of the gods above mentioned, who, as our author observes, "bear no more resemblance to the one true God than darkness to light, than vice to virtue."

A history of the ten incarnations of VISHNU follows in consideraable detail, and an account of SIVA, and the abominable Lingam worship, is given in as chaste language as possible. BRAHMA, and his sacrificial rites and festivals, are noticed last in order of the great triad; the reason may be, that he is not much regarded in the reigning superstition; nor does any one adopt him as his guardian deity.

INDRA, the god of the firmament, with his ornaments and attributes, is next described; then SURYA or the sun; GANESA, identified so accurately with the Janus of the Romans; KARTIKYA, the Indian Mars; AGNI, of elementary fire; PAVANI, god of the winds; VARUNA, god of the waters; YAMA, the Hindu Pluto,

with many others, whose characters are so learnedly described by of Asiatic Researches, to whose Sir W. Jones, in the first volume classical account of the above su perior deities, if Mr. Ward's be thology will want no other aid in added, the student in Hindu my the investigation, as in the latter will be found many interesting par ticulars, respecting these deities, omitted by the former, together with some very curious incidents to which the author himself was witness, at the celebration of some of their festivals. As a specimen of the entertainment he may expect in this way, from a perusal of the volume itself, the following passage is inserted, extracted from the very interesting and extended account of the worship paid to the goddess DURGA, the wife of Siva, the destroying power.

In the year 1806, I was present at the worship of this goddess, as performed at the house of Raja Raj-Krishnu at Cal

cutta. The buildings where the festival

was held were on four sides, leaving an

area in the middle. The room to the east contained wine, English sweetmeats, &c. for the entertainment of English guests, with native Portuguese or two to wait on the visitors. In the opposite room was placed the image, with vast heaps of all kinds of offerings before it.

rushed in, almost treading one upon another; among whom were the vocal singers, having on long caps like sugar loaves. The area might be about fifty cubits long and thirty wide. When the crowd had

sat down, they were so wedged together as

to present the appearance of a solid pare

In the two side rooms were the native extended notice. In writing the guests, and in the area groups of Hindoo Hindu names of places and deities, dancing women, finely dressed, singing so often occurring in these pages, and dancing with sleepy steps, surround- it is rather to be lamented, that ed with Europeans who were sitting on chairs and couches. One or two groups the author did not conform to of Musulman men-singers entertained the the mode of orthography usually company at intervals with Hindoost'hanee adopted by Sir William Jones and songs and ludicrous tricks. Before two Dr. Wilkins, now in such general o'clock the place was cleared of the dancing girls, and of all the Europeans except use. Brahma, for instance, is alourselves; and almost all the lights were ways written by him Brumhu; extinguished, except in front of the god- Agni, Ugnee; Yama, Yumu; Sandess; when the doors of the area were scrit, Sungskritu; and although thrown open, and a vast crowd of natives the Indian pronunciation may thus be more correctly expressed, the eye of an European reader, accustomed to another mode of orthography, is somewhat offended by the alteration. This and other peculiarities, however, are of trivial weight when compared with the vast mass of instruction to be obtained from its perusal. Deeply acquainted as the missionaries appear to be with enormities practised in India, under the abused name of religion, let them undauntedly but discreetly persevere in the. glorious task of reforming them. It will not be the work of a day; but patient perseverance will finally conquer every difficulty. The clouds are dispersing: the dawn has broke. Another century, perhaps, may see the spell of idolatry dissolved, and the knowledge of the true God spread over that now polluted land," as the waters cover the sea."

ment of heads; a small space ouly being left immediately before the image for the motions of the singers, who all stood up.

Four sets of singers were present on this

occasion; the first consisting of bramhuns, the next of bankers, the next of voishnuvus, and the last of weavers; who entertained their guests with filthy songs, and danced in indecent attitudes before the goddess, holding up their hands, turning round, putting forward their heads towards the image, every now and then bending their bodies, and almost tearing their throats with their vociferations. The whole scene produced on my

mind sensations of the greatest horror.

The dress of the singers their indecent gestures-the abominable nature of the songs-the horrid din of their miserable drum the lateness of the hour-the darkness of the place with the reflection that I was standing in an idol temple, and that this immense multitude of rational and immortal creatures, capable of superior joys, were in the very act of worship, perpetrating a crime of high treason against the God of heaven, while they themselves believed they were performing an act of merit-excited ideas and feelings in my mind which time can never obliterate.

Having taken this ample review of the contents of the Dissertation, and the portion of the work contained in the first volume, we shall leave the consideration of the curious subjects discussed in the second for a future article. The interest and importance of the publication, added to the novelty of the greatest part of the information which it conveys, entitle it to this

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the tour of Greece and Albania, Mr. Legh was induced, from the unhealthy state of the countries of the Levant, to direct his steps to the shores of Egypt, and that he was very unexpectedly permitted to pursue his researches beyond the cataracts, an advantage never before acquired by any European. Whenever a traveller, let his literary acquirements be ever so moderate, has succeeded in penetrating into an unknown country, it, undoubtedly, becomes his duty not only to remark every circumstance relative to climate, manners, and natural productions, but, if possible, to note those remarks on the spot, and at a convenient opportunity communicate them to the public. Knowledge, in however plain a garb, is always acceptable; but when instruction is conveyed in scientific language it becomes doubly agreeable, and we can venture to assert that the work before us is possessed of this advantage.

The narrative commences in the month of July 1812, when the author having visited the northern islands of the Egean sea landed on the coast of Asia, to examine the Troad. Here, receiving intelligence of the mortality which prevailed at Smyrna, he determined to leave the Levant as speedily as possible. Having arrived at Malta in company with his fellow traveller, the Rev. Charles Smelt, they were obliged to perform a quarantine of twenty days, and the reports of the increasing mortality of the plague determined them on their release to return to England.

But (says Mr. L.) Egypt was still open to us and though the communication between Constantinople and Alexandria had been uninterrupted, that country had hitherto continued in a state of perfect exemption from the contagion. There is something inexplicable, and that one might be disposed to call capricious, in the way in which this dreadful disease spreads from one country to another, and we had been particularly struck with the observation of the Greek who acted as English consul at Scio. Though within Asiatic Journ.-No. 13.

a few hours sail of Smyrna, where numhers were dying daily of the plague, he and, during our stay of some days, we had no fear of its approaching the island; saw many Turks who had come directly from that place, leap on shore without any interruption. "But," added the ConAlexandria, distant some hundred miles, sul, "should the plague declare itself at

we shall certainly have it at Scio." He

spoke confidently, and quoted many instances within his own memory of the like coincidence.

This is certainly a very curious fact, and in our opinion well worthy the serious consideration of the medical world.

On the 21st November they embarked on board a vessel bound to Alexandria, and Mr. L. gives the following reasons for not entering more particularly into the history of this city.

To repeat what has been so often written of the present and former condition of this celebrated city, would be both tedious and superfluous, as the expedition to Egypt has rendered this part of the world familiar to many of my countrymen; and by those who have not had an opportunity of visiting the country, the full descriptions to be found in the various books.

of travels will be deemed sufficient to sa

tisfy the curiosity of the most inquisitive. If in the course of the following narrative I may be accused by some of passing too hastily over places famous in antiquity, and still offering objects of the most lively interest, while others, on the contrary, should think I have run into the opposite error, and indulged in useless repetition, I have only to answer, that the recollection of the sensations excited by the sight

of those wonderful monuments of former times will never be obliterated from my memory; but I shall mention them ranarrative, than with any design of inther with an intention to complete the creasing the number of detailed descriptions already in the hands of the public.

The traveller who sees for the first time

the pyramids of Gizeh, or the ruined temples of the Thebaïd, feels as if he had never heard or read of them before; but an author must have very considerable confidence in his own powers of writing, tions of Denon, Hamilton, and, above who would venture to add to the descripall, of the costly and elaborate work lately published by the French govern

ment.

Having quitted Alexandria they took the road to Rosetta, at which place Mr. L. takes the opportunity of giving us the following short VOL. III. G

but comprehensive account of the unfortunate disasters suffered by our army in 1805.

When our troops had gained possession of the town of Rosetta, and were dispersed in various parts of it regaling themselves at their different quarters, after the exertions they had made, a single Turk, armed with no other weapon than a pistol, began an attack on the straggling soldiers, of whom he killed more than a dozen, before the house where he was concealed and from which he directed his fire could be broken open and the assailaut dislodged.

The Turkish governor, encouraged by this unexpected success, as well as by the arrival of 800 troops from Cairo, and the certain information that the Pacha was descending the Nile with an additional force of 8000 men, resolved to make a desperate effort, and second the spirited attack of an individual. Before the English troops had time to form, they were driven from the town, and being obliged to retreat through the desert without cavalry to support them, their losses in killed and prisoners were very considerable. The conduct of the Governor, after this unfortunate affair, offers an example of refinement of cruelty in a conqueror, seldom seen in these modern times-for each of the prisoners was compelled to carry the head of one of his comrades who had perished in battle, as a present to the Pacha of Cairo.

Notwithstanding the abundance and cheapness of provisions in Upper Egypt, Mr. L. describes the inhabitants as a dirty miserable set of wretches. It will scarcely be believed by an English reader, but we are by no means inclined to question the veracity of our author, when he describes the cheapness and plenty of provisions in the following manner:

Provisions are so extremely abundant and cheap in this part of the country, and in Upper Egypt they are still more so, that we frequently bought 1000 eggs for a dollar, and for the same sum could purchase 14 fowls and innumerable pigeons; but the fertility of the soil, which produces three crops in the year, clover, corn, and rice, offers a striking contrast to the miserable appearance of the inhabitants, who are excessively dirty, and in a state of almost perfect nudity. They are, however, at the same time remarkable for their great patience, the power of bearing fatigue, and the faculty they possess of living almost upon nothing.

Speaking of Cairo, our author observes the height of the houses and the extreme narrowness of the streets, which will scarcely allow two loaded camels to pass; he then proceeds to speak of the bazaars and the slave mar ket.

Among the chief curiosities which attracted our attention, may be ranked the bazaars, of an appearance far superior in splendour to any we had witnessed in our travels in Turkey. Each trade has its allotted quarter, and the display of superb Turkish dresses, costly Damascus swords, ataghans, and every species of eastern luxury and magnificence, formed a most brilliant and interesting spectacle.

We visited also the slave-market, where, to say nothing of the moral reflections suggested by this traffic in human beings, agreeable manner, by the excessive state

the senses were offended in the most dis

of filthiness in which these miserable wretches were compelled to exist. They were crowded together in inclosures like the sheep-pens of Smithfield market, and the abominable stench and uncleanliness which were the consequence of such confinement, may be more readily imagined than described.

After a very short account of the principal pyramid, Mr. L. proceeds to say, that the government of Egypt had enjoyed a greater degree of tranquillity under the administration of the present Pacha than for many years previous, and this change he considers is entirely owing to the vigorous measures adopted by that officer, who from the humble station of captain of a pirate boat has raised himself to his present rank; he then quotes the following passage from the travels of the pretended Ali Bey, descriptive of the state of the country at the time Mahomed Ali was elevated to the pachalik.

D'un autre côté, Mahomed Ali, qui doit son élévation au courage de ses troupes, tolère leurs excès, et ne sçait pas s'en rendre indépendant; les Grands Sheiks d'ailleurs, jouissant, sous cette espèce de gouvernement, de plus d'influence et de liberté appuient de tout leur pouvoir le systême existant. Le soldat tyrannise; le bas peuple souffre; mais les grands ne s'en ressentent nullement, et la machine marche comme elle peut.

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