secured in their places, and to each other; after which, a slender kind
of scaffolding is made under the eaves of the respective frames, to
enable the _grammies_, or thatchers, to commence their operations in
laying on the coating of grass. The eaves are first brought to the
thickness of at least a foot, by placing very large bundles, previously
well compacted, and squared at their ends, in a line between the frame,
and a succession of very strong bamboo laths: each bundle is pressed as
close as possible to its neighbour, and thus the whole of the lower tier
is completed.
The rest of the thatch is laid on in small portions, the several bundles
being spread open, and having their butts, or lower ends, compressed
between two bamboo laths, which are tied in several places, so as to
secure their contents perfectly. Each parcel is then handed up, and laid
with the butt downwards, at about two or three inches above its lower
neighbour; causing the whole thatch to appear in over-laps from bottom
to top, like so many ridges, of about an inch high, and running parallel
for the whole breadth of the work.
The several corners are now covered with immense trusses of refuse
grass, bound very firmly together, reaching the whole extent of the
angle, or _gore_, and full two feet in diameter. These trusses being
bound down very firmly to their adjacent sides, are ultimately covered
with layers of _seerky_, placed so as to over-lap about a foot above
each other, and, in their turn, duly tied to the trusses: a similar
truss is laid along the ridge pole. This _seerky_ is composed of the
stems of the _surput_, or tassel grass, which grows to the height of ten
feet, or more: it is found to be a larger species of the celebrated
Guinea grass, formerly introduced as a supposed novelty into the East,
but which proved to be nothing more than the common _bainseah_, or
buffalo grass, that grows wild, in the greatest luxuriance, all over
Bengal. The stems of the _surput_, when arrived at their full size, are
as thick as a swan’s quill, and bear a remarkable gloss: in the dry
season they are cut, and, after being stripped of the parched remains of
their leaves, are laid parallel on a board, their ends being previously
brought even to a line; a long wire needle is then passed through the
several stems, as they lie contiguous, leading after it a piece of
packthread, which is afterwards knotted at both ends, to prevent its
withdrawing either way. Four or five of these stitches are made in the
same parcel of _seerky_; after which, it is rolled up breadthwise, for
sale. Each parcel may be from two feet to a yard in breadth, and the
stems composing it may be about four feet in length. The ordinary mode
of selling this commodity is by the hundred pieces, for which from three
to ten rupees are given, according to circumstances.
It is perhaps singular that I should have seen _seerky_ in use among a
groupe of gypsies in Essex: in India, those itinerants, whose habits and
characters correspond with this intolerable species of banditti,
invariably shelter themselves under _seerky_; which, being remarkably
light, and, when doubled or trebled, completely water-proof, enables
them to construct a very comfortable cabin in a few minutes. It often
happens, during the rainy season, that part of a thatch sinks, or rots,
and admits the passage of water to the interior; in such case, a piece
of _seerky_, properly placed, causes the water to flow over the defect:
when that article cannot be had, it is found expedient to throw a few
pecks of chaff, or straw cut very small, upon those parts requiring
relief; the chaff is drawn in by the percolating fluid, but, being
obstructed in its passage, swells in consequence of the continued
moisture, and thus, in a short time, usually stops the leaks. The mode
of putting on a thatch above described, is confined to certain parts of
the country; in other places, they put the grass on in a reversed
position, as we do our wheat stubble thatches, the part which grew
uppermost being placed lowest. But throughout the country, all thatching
is done horizontally, and not vertically, as among us: the Indian
thatcher begins at the bottom; whereas we commence at the side of a
thatch: we thatch with skewers and rods of hazel, &c.; they with bamboo
laths and twine made of grass; the latter being passed to and fro by
means of long needles, made extemporaneously of bamboo, &c.
The doors used by the natives are generally made of such wood as the
neighbouring country may afford, and consist of a few vertical planks,
kept together by two, or more, horizontal battens; the fastenings are,
for the most part, made by staples and hooks, into which strong wooden
bars slip, and unslip, with ease. The windows are always very small,
perhaps not more than two feet square, and are closed by means of wooden
shutters, having exteriorly a _jaump_, made of bamboo battens and mats;
which, being firmly put together, and suspended at their upper borders
by hooks, or rings, fastened into the wall, or into the wooden plate
covering the aperture, may be raised, as though on hinges, to any
desired elevation, and preserved therein, by bamboo stilts, made either
with forked ends, or having small blocks of wood nailed to them, to
prevent their points from passing through the mats. The same kind of
defence is used for doors in general, but of a much larger size than for
windows; when raised, they certainly are extremely useful in keeping off
the sun and rain; when lowered, so as to lie parallel with, and close
to, the wall, they are an admirable defence against wind and dust;
though both will find their way through the several small apertures in
sufficient quantity to prove highly unpleasant at certain times. In
houses constructed by the natives, the windows are placed very high up;
sometimes scarcely allowing a person to look out. This is done for the
sake both of privacy, and of coolness; as the rarefied air is better
enabled to make its escape, than when the apertures are low. Thus, most
of the houses built by the French at Chandernagore, &c. are far cooler
than those formerly built in Calcutta; owing to the windows of the
former being carried nearly to the tops of the rooms, while the latter
have often seven or eight feet of wall above them. It has several times
happened, that persons sent up to work at the timbers supporting the
flat roof above, have fallen from their ladders, or scaffolds, in
consequence of the air in the upper part of the room being unfit for
respiration. As to chimnies, they are utterly unknown among the natives:
though, in some cottages, an aperture is left for the escape of smoke,
but rather by neglect than by design. The smoke must escape when and how
it can; but, it does not incommode a native a thousandth part so much as
it does an European, who must suffer some inconvenience at the best of
times, when a fire is lighted within the sitting room; but, when green
wood is put on, the latter cannot stand its effects. The former will,
even at such moments, often be seen smoking his _goorgoory_, as though
the atmosphere were not sufficiently burthened with fuliginous particles
to amuse his lungs. Victuals are rarely cooked within the house, when
the weather permits of that operation being performed in the open air;
indeed, few persons, who are not extremely poor, are without some little
shed, under which it may be carried on at all times.
The exterior surface of the wall is rarely plastered, even with mud; it
being an object to preserve it rough, in order that the large cakes of
cow-dung, intended for fuel, may be stuck up against them, and there be
thoroughly dried by the sun; which is generally effected, in exposed
situations, and in fair weather, in one, or two, days, at the utmost.
These cakes, called _gutties_, burn admirably well; making a fire not
unlike that resulting from good peat. The interior is usually smoothed
all the way up, or at least for about three feet from the floor, and
smeared with a solution of cow-dung, as is the floor itself, which is
rarely made of any thing but clay, well rammed down, or perhaps of
tarras; but, the latter is too costly for most individuals, and, though
indicating riches, does not give so much satisfaction to the proprietor.
In some houses, a few joists of rough wood are thrown across from the
top of one, to that of the other, wall; perhaps at a yard or more
asunder: some few instances may be adduced, perhaps, in each village of
note, of a slight kind of flooring, either of rough planks, not fitted
together, or of bamboo laths, being made above the joists, for the
accommodation of luggage, or for the dormitory of some of the family;
but, with such exceptions, the only use made of the upper part is for
the lodgement of brush-wood, bamboo poles, ladders, farming utensils,
mats, nets, &c. &c., according to the occupant’s profession.
The private apartments are commonly separate from what we should call
the ‘keeping room,’ and have a separate entrance, if under the same
roof; it is, however, very common to allot some detached building,
having a _compound_ divided off, and perfectly sequestered from the
other accommodations, set apart for the _zenanah_, or female part of the
family. The horses, oxen, cows, &c., are commonly picketted out in the
open air when the weather permits; having a large trough of mud to
receive their chaff. During great heats, or heavy rains, they are
sheltered under sheds made for that purpose, and for the preservation of
the _palanquin_, _dooly_, _r’hut_, or other vehicle the occupant may
possess. Sometimes the kine are kept under the same roof with the
major-domo, and all his family. Candles are not used in the houses of
the natives, especially of the Hindus, who would consider the presence
of a lump of tallow within their areas, as sufficient to pollute
whatever they might contain. All use oil, which, being poured into a
small earthen vessel, nearly in the shape of a heart, or of a _peepul_
leaf, called a _churraug_, is placed in one of the numerous niches made
in every wall, at perhaps four feet above the floor: the wicks are
chiefly made of slips of rag, about a foot long, rolled up to the
thickness of a goose-quill. For more immediate use, the _churraug_ is
often placed on a stem of wood, having a broad base, or a cross, to
support it, and a small block at its summit, hollowed out to receive the
bottom of the lamp. Some use brass apparatus, and, in a very few
instances, the stems, or pillars, are made with a slide, so as to vary
the height of the _churraug_; which, in such case, assumes the more
dignified appellation of _pilsoze_: the ordinary height of the lamp from
the floor, including the plinth, pillar, and capital, may be from twenty
to twenty-six inches. Snuffers are unknown; their place is sometimes
supplied by the fingers, but more generally by a pair of scissors, or a
pair of _duspannahs_, (_i.e._ tongs,) such as are used by
_hookah-burdars_. The oil in use for lamps is that already spoken of,
extracted from the _sesamum_, of which the refuse cake is given to
favorite oxen, &c.
Although _charpoys_, or small beds, are in use among all classes, the
generality prefer sleeping on mats, which are infinitely cooler than any
beddings. The whole of the apparatus for a dormitory may be comprised in
a very short catalogue; namely, a _durmah-mat_, made from coarse reeds
split open and laid flat, with the glossy surface uppermost; perhaps a
_satrinje_, or small cotton carpet, a _chudder_, or sheet, to wrap round
the body, and a _tuckeah_, or pillow, stuffed very hard. In cold
weather, a _goodry_, or quilt; perhaps, indeed, two, may be added.
Curtains are out of the question, as are all those paraphernalia which
luxury has introduced among us. A _peek-daun_, or spitting pot, made
generally of _phool_, which is a very tolerable kind of tutenagne, is
always placed at the bed side, and is ever resorted to when chewing the
_pawn_, or beetle. The vine bearing the aromatic leaf so called, is most
carefully cultivated in many parts of the country; the whole being
supported on trellisses made of reeds, and small bamboos, to the height
of about five feet. The situation must be very dry; hence, the banks of
old tanks, and other such elevated sites, are chosen for cultivating the
_pawn_, of which it is said a _bigah_ will produce, in the vicinity of
any populous city, full two hundred rupees yearly; provided the vines be
of the _sunҫhah_, or true sort; which is easily known by the yellowness
of the borders, and ramifications, of the leaf. This species is far more
pleasant to the palate than the common green kind; which is, besides,
tough, and possesses a certain acrid quality.
_Beetle_, or _pawn_, is prepared by carefully picking out any defects in
the leaves, and by removing the stalks up to their very centres; four or
five leaves are then laid one above the other, when the upper one is
smeared with shell-lime, a little moistened with water. The seeds of the
_elatchee_, or cardamom, are added, together with about the fourth part
of a _beetle-nut_, (that is, of the _areca_,) and, the whole being
lapped up by folding the leaves over their contents, the little packet
is kept together in its due form, which is usually triangular, by means
of a slice of _beetle-nut_, cut into a thin wedge, so as to transfix it
completely. It is common to see a whole family partaking of _pawns_, the
chewing of which occasions the saliva to be tinctured as red as blood:
they certainly are fragrant, and excellent stomachics; but their too
frequent use produces costiveness, which, in that climate, ever induces
serious illness.
The saliva will not be tinctured, if the _chunam_, (_i.e._ the lime,) be
omitted; hence, it is evident that the alkali produces the color from
the juices contained in the _pawn_. The color thus obtained does not
stain linen. Some use the _k’hut_, which is the same as our _Terra
Japonica_, and is procured by bleeding various kinds of trees,
principally the mimosa, abounding in most of the _jungles_ (or
wildernesses): a small quantity, about the size of a pea, broken into
several pieces, is mixed with the other ingredients, before the leaves
are lapped over, and transfixed with the spike of beetle, or, perhaps,
with a clove. The _k’hut_ is not, in my opinion, any thing in favor of
the _pawn_, and certainly adds to that noxious quality above mentioned.
Some persons attribute the blackness of the teeth, in both males and
females, throughout India, to the use of _pawn_; under the opinion, that
the discoloration is effected by the lime blended therein. Such is,
however, wide of the fact: _pawn_ is found to be highly favorable to the
gums, when the lime is omitted; and so sensible are those who chew it of
the bad effects produced by the alkali upon the enamel of the teeth,
that, in order to preserve them from corrosion, they rub them frequently
with the preparation called _missy_; thereby coating them with that
black substance which does not readily give way, even to the most
powerful dentifrice. I strongly suspect, however, that, in thus
shielding the teeth from the alkali, some injury is done to the enamel
by the supposed preservative; though by no means to that extent the
former would speedily effect, but for the use of _missy_. The natives
only chew the _pawn_, rejecting the masticated ingredients when their
flavor has been extracted; some reject even the saliva tinctured by the
_pawn_, spitting it out into the _peek-daun_. A few, not content with
the compound already described, absolutely mix tobacco, previously
reduced to a coarse powder, by rubbing the dried leaves with the thumb
in the hollow of the other hand! One would think that ‘potent weed’ must
supersede all its companions, and cause them to be as little tasted, as
though they had not been crowded into the jumble of flavors.
I have already explained, that earthen pipes, such as those we call
‘Dutch pipes’, are not known in India; but that the _hookah_, _kaleaun_,
and _goorgoory_, are in general use, among the several classes
respectively. The lowest classes of Europeans, as also of the natives,
and, indeed, most of the officers of country-ships, frequently smoke
_cheroots_, exactly corresponding with the Spanish _segar_, though
usually made rather more bulky. However fragrant the smokers themselves
may consider _cheroots_, those who use _hookahs_, hold them to be not
only vulgar, but intolerable! Hence, we sometimes see a whole
congregation of the latter put to the route by some one unlucky visitor,
who, either from ignorance, of from disregard to the feelings of his
more delicate participators in ‘the cloudy regale’, mounts his
_cheroot_; thus abrogating all distinctions of musk, cinnamon,
rose-water, &c. in a trice.
The natives smoke _cheroots_ without any precaution whatever to guard
the lips and teeth from the highly acidulated fumes derived from the
burning tobacco, but when, as has sometimes been the case, _cheroots_
were brought into fashion, though but for a while, it was found
expedient to have small silver or earthen sockets made, to receive the
end of the _cheroot_; thereby avoiding contact with the tobacco.
The natives, whether male or female, never use any sort of dentifrice,
nor have they any idea of hair-brushes; which could not, indeed,
according to their tenets, be admitted within the mouth. The only
apparatus employed for cleaning the teeth, is a short piece of stick,
commonly the branch of some bush, pulled at the moment for the occasion:
this is either beat or chewed, for a short time, until the fibres, for
about half an inch at the end, separate, and form a kind of stiff brush,
which is applied at right angles to the teeth. This is not a very
delicate implement, but, when aided by a plentiful supply of water,
answers tolerably well; though it certainly can never prevent the
accumulation of tartar within the teeth. Necessity has made me sometimes
use the _dauntwun_, as it is called, but not without leaving
considerable soreness about my gums.
The ladies of Hindostan smoke their _goorgoories_ in very high stile; as
do those of inferior rank their _nereauls_, or cocoa-nuts, with no less
glee. It would, perhaps, be difficult to decide which of the sexes were
most addicted to this habit: they both begin at a very early age, and
are never so happy as when engaged in its practice. After a while, we
become reconciled to seeing females smoking; though I must confess,
that, however delicate the preparation of the tobacco may be, and
however elegant the apparatus, still a certain idea, not very
conformable to feminine propriety, creeps into our minds, when we see an
European lady thus employed. We revolt at a habit not authorized by what
we have been accustomed to in our early youth, and consider it an
intrusion upon masculine characteristics. Several ladies have gone yet
further, by adopting the entire costume of the natives; a circumstance
which, however gratifying it may have been to themselves, by no means
raised them in the estimation of those whom they imitated; while, at the
same time, it gave birth to opinions, and occasionally to _experiments_,
by no means favorable to their reputation. The same kind of ridicule
attaches equally to gentlemen, who at times allow their whiskers to
grow, and who wear turbans, &c., in imitation of the Mussulmans of
distinction. Their countrymen, though perhaps tacitly, censure such
imitations, when arising from caprice; and the Mussulmans regard these
renegadoes in costume much the same as we do such of the natives, as,
being smitten with our general character, and partaking of our pastimes,
lay aside their appropriate garments in favor of jackets, jockey-caps,
boots, and leather inexpressibles! Some, indeed, do more; they sit at
table, and devour, with no small degree of eagerness, the viands
prepared according to English fashion; washing them down with copious
libations of Claret and Madeira, to the utter degradation of their
persons, and reputation, in the eyes both of their new, and of their
old, companions.
But there is a certain happiness apparently attendant upon this species
of infatuation; what is lost in public opinion being invariably gained
in self-sufficiency; while every little ironical compliment is construed
into superlative eulogium. The present Nabob Vizier of Oude, _Saadut
Ali_, many years ago, when compelled to reside at the Presidency, under
serveillance of the Bengal government, in consequence of the jealousy
entertained by his brother, the late _Asoph ul Dowlah_, affected to
enter upon this kind of apostacy. I believe, every one saw through the
veil, though he hunted with fox-hounds in our style, and assimilated in
many other points; but the essentials were carefully preserved from
metamorphosis. Many characters, such as I have described, could be
quoted, but the most particularly appropriate to my subject is that of
_Mirza Abu Taleb Khan_, who embarked in the same ship with me, for the
purpose of proceeding from Bengal to England, where he was at first
received as a general and prince; merely owing to an empty title
conferred on him at the Nabob Vizier’s court, about as important as that
of a Windsor Knight. This hero did not, it is true, adopt our costume
altogether, though he became a kind of ‘half and half, like the sea-calf
at Sir Ashton’s;’ but he had the impudence to assert, that his paltry
lodgings in _Gresse-Street_, (above all places under the sun,) were
graced by the nocturnal visits of several Peeresses of the most exalted
character; many of whose names he most scandalously, and ungratefully,
disclosed! I say, ungratefully, because it was impossible for me to
believe that ladies of such character could have stooped to such
conduct; although, in consequence of suitable introductions, they had
received him at their houses in that hospitable manner ever adopted in
favor of respectable foreigners. The _Mirza_, very probably, may have
been imposed upon by some low women, who made him the Falstaff of their
drama; and, by assuming the titles of our nobility, flattered his vanity
to an extreme! Yet, supposing this to have been the fact, how are we to
find an apology for that open boast he made of the supposed intimacy!
But vanity was his motto; he studied singularity in many instances; he
studied also celebrity; and would willingly have impressed us with an
opinion, that, from _Hafiz_ down to the _Plenipo’_, his abilities were
triumphant. Let us compare him with the former, whose poetry charmed his
countrymen!
ODE BY HAFIZ.
Sweet maid, if thou wouldst charm my sight,
And bid these arms thy neck infold;
That rosy cheek, that lily hand
Would give thy poet more delight
Than all Boҫara’s vaunted gold,
Than all the gems of Samarcand.
Boy, let yon[A] liquid ruby flow,
And bid thy pensive heart be glad,
Whate’er the frowning zealots say:
Tell them their Eden cannot show
A stream so clear as Rocnabad,
A bow’r so sweet as Moselláy.
Oh! when these fair, perfidious maids,
Whose eyes our secret haunts infest,
Their dear destructive charms display,
Each glance my tender breast invades,
And robs my wounded soul of rest,
As Tartars seize their destin’d prey.
In vain with love our bosoms glow;
Can all our tears, can all our sighs
New lustre to those charms impart?
Can cheeks, where living roses blow,
Where nature spreads her richest dies,
Require the borrow’d gloss of art?
Speak not of fate—ah! change the theme,
And talk of odours, talk of wine,
Talk of the flow’rs that round us bloom:
’Tis all a cloud, ’tis all a dream;
To love and joy thy thoughts confine,
Nor hope to pierce the sacred gloom.
Beauty has such resistless pow’r,
That ev’n the chaste Egyptian dame [B]
Sigh’d for the blooming Hebrew boy:
For her how fatal was the hour,
When to the banks of Nilus came
[C] A youth so lovely and so coy!
But ah! sweet maid, my counsel hear,
(Youth shall attend when those advise
Whom long experience renders sage);
While music charms the ravish’d ear,
While sparkling cups delight our eyes
Be gay; and scorn the frowns of age.