ADVENTURES IN THE EAST.
Gaiety of Allahabad—Lucnow Chutnee—Tails of the Yāk—Horn
of the Unicorn—The Looking-glass Shawl—The first flight of
Locusts—An Adventure—The Rats’ Granary—Balls—Profiles—The leaf
Grasshopper—Appointed to Allahabad—Ramohun Roy—The Bottle of
Horrors—Narrative of a Thug—The Quicksand—Meteors and falling
Stars—Hanging oneself for spite—The Sipahī Guard—The Ghurī—The
Sitar—The Ektara—The Gynee Club—Soonghees—Colonel Gardner.
1832, _May_.—Allahabad is now one of the gayest, and is, as it always
has been, one of the prettiest stations in India. We have dinner-parties
more than enough; balls occasionally; a book society; some five or six
billiard-tables; a pack of dogs, some amongst them hounds, and (how could
I have forgotten!) fourteen spinsters!
_2nd._—Colonel Gardner has sent us twelve jars of the most delicious
Lucnow chutnee, the very beau idéal of mixtures of sharp, bitter, sour,
sweet, hot, and cold!
This station, which in former days was thought one of the
least-to-be-coveted positions, has now become, what from the first we
always pronounced it to be, one of the most desirable. We have a kind
neighbourly society, as much, or even more of gaiety than we sober folks
require, and, mirabile, no squabbling. I hope his lordship will not
disturb our coterie by moving the Boards of Revenue and of Criminal and
Civil Justice higher up the country, which some think not improbable.
A friend has made me a present of a pair of the most magnificent
cow-tails, of the yāk or cow of Thibet. They are great curiosities, and
shall go with my collection to England. These tails I have had made into
chaunrīs by having them fastened into leaves of embossed silver, which
have been affixed to the horns of deer of the Himalaya. The hair on the
chaunrī (fly-flapper) is on the original bone as it was on the yāk; and
the hair, which is perfectly white, is considered the most valuable, the
dark coloured hair being reckoned inferior. They were brought by some
Hill-men from Bhootan. The horns came from Landour, brought from the
interior of the Himalaya, by the Pahārees (Hill-men). Three more of the
same sort were also sent me from Almorah, but they are very scarce.
The horn is said to be that of a deer of the Himalaya, which, when first
brought down, was supposed to be unicorn. These two horns came from
Landour, brought down by Hill-men. Three more were sent me from Almorah.
The men described the animal as having but _one_ horn in the centre of
its forehead; when questioned particularly on this point, they were firm;
and, being ignorant that we believe the unicorn fabulous, could have no
motive for the assertion. During my residence in the East, I saw only
five of these horns, which are all in my possession, and not one of them
will pair with another. The men were requested to bring the head of the
animal with the horn upon it; they have not done so, and there is no
further proof to convince unbelievers of the existence of the unicorn of
the Himalaya. Chaunrīs of peacock’s feathers are emblems of royalty, and
are used by servants in attendance on the Governor-general, who stand
behind his chair and wave them over his head. The sā’īses carry them of
horse-hair, to wisk the flies off the horses; and a very common sort are
made of grass. Very beautiful white chaunrīs are also made of strips from
the quill of the peacock’s feather. The chaunrīs are represented in the
frontispiece, over the head of Gănéshŭ. The Brahmans use them in pooja,
waving them over the idol.
A lady has sent me a great curiosity—a common dark brown-red shawl, worn
by low caste women at Hissar. It is worked all over in large flowers,
in orange silk; the centre of the flower contains a circular bit of
looking-glass about an inch and a half in diameter, round which the
flower is worked in coarse silk. The appearance of the dress as the
light falls on the looking-glass is most strange and odd. I never saw a
shawl of the sort before. It is too coarse to be worn by any but poor
people: when working in the fields, in what an extraordinary manner the
light must be caught on all those reflecting circles of glass!
_June 19th._—We drove into the Fort to call on a fair friend at 5 P.M. No
sooner had I entered the house, than we saw clouds of locusts in the air:
immediately afterwards a heavy storm of rain fell, and the locusts were
beaten down by it in great numbers to the ground. The native servants
immediately ran out and caught them by handfuls, delighted to get them
to make a curry; for which purpose they may, perhaps, be as delicate as
prawns, which are most excellent. I took some to preserve with arsenical
soap: they look like very large grasshoppers. I never saw a flight of
locusts before; on our return home the air was full of them.
The food of St. John in the wilderness was locusts and wild honey: very
luxurious fare, according to the natives, who say, either in a curry or
fried in clarified butter, they are excellent. I believe they divest them
of their wings, and dress them after the fashion of woodcocks.
Some assert that St. John did not live upon locusts, but upon the bean of
a tree called by the Arabs Kharroùb, the locust-tree of Scripture[95]—a
point too difficult to be decided by a poor hājī[96] in search of the
picturesque.
_20th._—At 5 A.M. I rode out with a friend, and met the hounds under
the Mahratta Bund; no other persons were present, and we had not gone
twenty yards before two jackals crossed the road just before the dogs:
away they went, in the prettiest style imaginable. Mr. B⸺ galloped off
across a ploughed field: the horse had scarcely gone ten yards when his
legs sunk into a deep soft hole; the creature could not recover himself;
over he went, falling on his back, with his rider under him; and there
the horse lay kicking with all four legs in the air for a short time, ere
the gentleman had the power to extricate himself from under the animal.
I was not five yards behind, and, jumping off my horse, went to his
assistance. The blood was pouring from his mouth and nose, and his right
shoulder was dislocated. Two natives came up. Leaving the fainting man in
their care, I galloped off for a surgeon. During my absence, a medical
man fortunately arrived at the spot: he found the gentleman senseless.
Having set his shoulder and bled him, he put him into a palanquin, and
sent him home. My search for a surgeon was unsuccessful for a length of
time: at last I rode into the court of the Hospital at Kyd Gunge, in
search of Dr. S⸺, when the first object I beheld was the corpse of a man
being carried out, marked with blood on the head; it made me shudder: the
medical man was just on the point of opening the head of a European, who
had died suddenly. This was rather a nervous adventure and a frightful
sight. My friend was so much stunned by the blow and the dislocation
of his arm, he could make but feeble efforts to extricate himself from
his horse. I thought at first he was killed by the way in which the two
streams of blood poured from the corners of his mouth when I raised his
head. It was unfortunate being alone at such a moment.
The rats during the harvest-time collect grain in holes; and the poor
people dig wherever they think they may chance to find a rat’s store,
for the sake of the grain: sometimes on one spot they find 20lb. weight
secreted by these provident animals, generally in the midst of the
fields. The natives steal the grain, and leave the holes open, which
are very dangerous for horses. The place into which Mr. B⸺’s horse fell
was an opening of the sort, filled by the rain of the day before with
light mould, therefore he could not see he was upon treacherous ground.
I escaped from being five yards in the rear of his horse; had he passed
over, I should, in all probability, have gone in; the ground appeared
perfectly good, instead of being like a quicksand.
The other night, for the first time up the country, I saw a glow-worm; it
was very thin, about half an inch in length, and more like a maggot in a
cheese than any thing else.
_Aug. 14th._—Last week we were at a ball given by the officers of the
6th Native Infantry to the station; in spite of the heat, the people
appeared to enjoy dancing very much, and kept it up until very late. A
ball-room in India, with all the windows open, and the pankhās in full
play, is not half so oppressive as a ball-room in London: the heat of
pure air is much better than the heat of a number of persons, all crowded
together and breathing the same atmosphere over and over again. Balls up
the country take place principally during the hot winds and rains; they
make a variety at a quiet station. During the cold months the people are
dispersed on duty in divers parts of the district.
I amuse myself turning profiles in rous wood on my lathe; the likenesses
of Buonaparte and the Duke of Wellington are good, because it is less
difficult to turn a strong profile. I look at the drawing whilst turning
the wood; when finished it is cut open, and the profile, if properly
done, is exact.
Snakes are in abundance: I caught a small venomous whip-snake in my
dressing-room to-day, and put it into the bottle of horrors. A lady
stepped upon the head of one a short time ago; the reptile curled round
her leg; when she raised her foot in a fright, it glided off, and was
found half killed in the next room.
A great fire has taken place in the Fort in Calcutta; an immense quantity
of stores have been destroyed in the magazine, report says to the amount
of ten lakh. Some suppose the fire may have been occasioned by the
cutting system having rendered the natives revengeful.
_Sept. 2nd._—A number of beautiful butterflies have been caught for
me in the garden; they are attracted by the lucerne grass, as well as
the flowers. Some are very rich in colour, and very delicate. Amongst
the insects collected, the most curious are the locusts, and the
leaf-grasshopper—a marvellous insect! an immense grasshopper, with two
wings exactly like narrow leaves, of a beautiful spring green, and two
wings beneath them of the most delicate gauze. One might imagine two
narrow leaves had been fastened on as wings to a grasshopper!
On the 11th of this month, the sāhib was appointed collector at
Allahabad: the comfort of holding a fixed situation is great, and we
rejoice exceedingly.
Our great Bengal Lion Rajah Ramohun Roy appears to have created no
small sensation on the other side of the water. He is one of the few
well-educated natives we possess, and is, decidedly, a very remarkable
person. He holds his title of Rajah from the king of Delhi, the great
Mogul, whose ambassador he is to the British Court in a suit versus John
Company.
_Extract from a homeward-bound letter._
“The Mem sāhiba’s present _fureur_, for she always has
one darling passion for the time, is making a collection
of butterflies and _coleopteræ_, she is deeply read in
_taxidermy_, and we have, besides, many other prepared
subjects, such as tigers, and hyenas’ skulls, alligator’s
skeleton whole; a delightful little pet in spirits of wine, a
young crocodile, skin and all. Then there is ‘The Bottle of
Horrors!’ containing cobra de capello, scorpions, lizards,
millepieds, centpieds, grillus monstrosus, and I know not what.
Mephistopheles himself would be affrighted; and I, the Faust
of this Margaret, am sitting in a quiet unconcern, smoking my
cigar, as happy as if I was one of the party in the bottle, the
daily object of admiration!”
NARRATIVE OF OOMEID THUG.—(August 10th, 1832.)
The following is a narrative of the Thugs, translated from the ‘Indian
Gazette,’ and the ‘Agra Ukbar,’ dated 10th October, 1832.
“In the month of Koar, I do not recollect the year, I, with five others,
went to Lochun Singh, jamadar in Muoza Seeapore, Purguna Bethoor. This
village was about twelve cos from Kusooapore, the place where we lived.
Having assembled a gang of thirty-one men, including the jamadar,
we set off towards Lucnow. The braying of an ass and the sound of a
peacock necessarily arresting our ears, we took them for good omens,
and breakfasted under a tree. On the same day we fell in with three
travellers of the Rajpoot caste, proceeding from Lucnow to Etawa. We put
up for the night together, agreeing to travel together the next morning.
While it was dark, we took our journey in company with the travellers;
and as we passed a well, finding the opportunity friendly to our purpose,
we fell upon and killed the travellers; and throwing their bodies into
the well, we went forward. Our booty amounted to 200 rupees in cash, and
some other property, which we divided, and took the road to Cawnpore.
On the road we met two travellers proceeding from Jeypore to Lucnow;
we travelled back with them to the village whence we had started; and
having remained there for the night, we set off the next morning while
it was dark with the travellers. Meeting with a well on the road, we
asked the travellers to rest awhile and smoke; and while smoking they
were struck with nooses, and strangled. We threw the bodies into the
wells. The spoil, amounting to rupees in cash 250, and other property, we
divided. After this occurrence Lochun, jamadar, hearing that his wife was
delivered of a son, proposed our going to our homes for a time, and we
accordingly dispersed.”
SECOND ENTERPRISE OF OOMEID THUG.
“About a year ago, in the month of Phagoon, I left my home in
Kussooapoor, in company with twenty-two other Thugs, and hearing the
sound of an owl, which we regarded as a good omen, we sat down to
breakfast, and then took the road to Etawa. Alighting at an inn (sarae)
in the night, we found a traveller there, proceeding from Kalpee to
Jypoor. My son Gunesh (who was afterwards sentenced to be hung) gained
him over to our party, and we set off together the next morning; and
travelling towards Agra, we halted at night in the sarae of Juswuntnugar:
leaving which place, we stopped near a tank, and in the act of helping
some tobacco to the traveller, he was strangled with a noose. His body
we threw into the tank. The booty consisted of one brass _lota_ and one
_thalee_, some clothes, and fifteen rupees in cash: these we divided. We
arrived next at Huteepoor, and put up in the inn there. Here we fell in
with five travellers, proceeding from Jeypoor to Lucnow; of them, two
were of the _Koormee_ caste, two _Aheers_, and one _Kuhar_. We persuaded
them that we were likewise travellers, and were on our way to Lucnow.
They readily joined us; and thus, next morning, we started together; and
as we were passing by a well, we asked the travellers to rest awhile,
and smoke tobacco; and while smoking, we strangled them with nooses, and
threw their bodies into the well. The booty, consisting of 100 rupees in
cash, and some clothes and utensils, we divided.
“We then went to Sersa Gung, seven _cos_ from Huteepoor, in the way to
Mynpooree, and put up in an inn. Here we met two travellers, journeying
from Juodhpoor to Byswara. As our custom was, we soon persuaded them to
join our party; we started in the morning, and as we reached a well,
we stopped there on the pretence of smoking, and strangled the two
travellers with nooses. Their property, amounting to sixty rupees in
cash, and their clothes, &c., we divided. Travelling five cos more, we
came to the inn of Mukhan: here two _Buggals_ arrested our attention;
they were travellers, journeying from Jeypoor to Lucnow. From their
eluding all inquiries, we naturally concluded that they had money in
specie with them; we were not mistaken: they started by sunrise, and we
followed them. When they reached near a tank, we found the opportunity
friendly to our purpose, and with nooses strangled them. In haste, we
threw the bodies into the tank, it being broad daylight, and departed.
On examining the booty, we found the bags we had taken contained one
thousand five hundred rupees; with this money we came to Agra. We then
left Agra, and halting at Bhurtpoor, took the road to Jeypoor; on our
way, we were joined by a party of twelve Thugs, and passing Jeypoor, we
reached the village of Dosa. Here we saw three men, who were travelling
from Juodhpoor to Lucnow; we found no difficulty in prevailing on them to
join us, and in the night we killed and buried them. The booty amounted
to sixty rupees in cash, and some utensils and clothes. We met four more
travellers in a village hard by; they were proceeding to Benares; we
invited them to warm themselves by the fire we had lighted, and while
warming themselves we strangled them with nooses, and their bodies we
buried. Our spoil amounted to thirty rupees in cash, and some utensils
and clothes. Some miles from this place, in a village, the name of which
I do not recollect, we halted: here we found three travellers going from
Nusseerabad to Cawnpore; at night we fell upon and killed them; their
bodies we buried in the same place. We found on them sixty rupees in
cash, and some utensils and clothes. One cos from this place, under a
_burgut_ tree, we met with three _Buggals_, who joined us; and as we set
off by dawn, we killed the _Buggals_ by a _jhaoo_ (tamarisk) field; we
despoiled them of fifty rupees in cash, and some clothes, &c.; the bodies
were afterwards buried.
“On our return, near to Jeypoor, by a tank, we obtained another prey
in a person proceeding to Cawnpore; we gained upon him by soft, tender
expressions, and then at night strangled him with a noose; his property
amounted to ten rupees in cash, and two bullocks.”
I could not omit inserting the above narrative, on account of the quiet
coolness with which the Thug Oomeid relates the murders committed by
himself and his gang.
_Oct. 25th._—The sale of the property of a friend took place to-day. Many
valuable works in octavo sold for twopence a volume! The furniture went
at about one fourth of its value. We took the opportunity of getting rid
of extra sofas and chairs; much furniture is a great inconvenience in
this climate; it harbours musquitoes.
Through the stupidity of our servants, some animal got into the
quail-house last night, and killed seventy-nine fat quail; very
provoking,—but as this is the season for them it is not of much
consequence, we can replace them; had it been during the hot winds, when
no quail are to be procured, it would have been a great loss in the
eating department.
All my finery coming from England has been totally lost, about twenty
days’ journey from this place, by the swamping of the boat; all my
presents gone “at one fell swoop,” leaving me _sans pompons, sans
souliers, sans everything_; my pen is bad, my knife blunt, and my new
penknife is feeding the fish at the bottom of the Ganges, off Monghir.
_Nov. 8th._—Last night we dined at Mr. F⸺’s; a Capt. W⸺, who is rather
a curiosity, was of the party; he brought us a letter of introduction
from Col. Gardner. He is the brother of Sir H. W⸺, the late ambassador in
Persia; he wears a native dress, with a long beard that hangs half way
down his breast; and his imitation of native style is good. He commenced
his travels in 1829, passing through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Persia, and
so on to Allahabad, and will return _viâ_ Constantinople; he is a captain
in the navy.
This morning, it being a holiday with the Hindoos, and a great
bathing-day at the junction of the rivers, we agreed to meet Capt. W⸺
on the spot before sunrise, to witness the tamāshā. He, having started
before us, rode down to the bathing-place, and getting into a quicksand
on the banks of the river, had a roll in the mud. Mr. B⸺ and I rode down
to meet him, and coming on a daldal (quicksand), my horse sank into it up
to his tail, struggling violently, and beating up and down like a boat
in a short sea; I rolled off, or rather Mr. B⸺ pulled me from the horse,
which, with great exertion and difficulty, at length scrambled out. Mr.
B⸺’s grey Cabul horse refused to pass the daldal; he snorted, beat the
ground with his fore-feet, and stood firm, evidently alarmed. Remounting
my horse Trelawny, we pursued our way to the Triveni, where we met Capt.
W⸺, and laughed at our misfortunes. This is the first time my horse and I
have parted company; I used to boast of never having quitted my saddle.
Capt. W⸺ went to the bathing-place, to see the junction of the three
rivers, the Gunga, the Jumna, and the Saraswati; the two first are above
ground, the third joins them underground,—at least, so say the pious
Hindoos. Capt. W⸺ keeps a journal; if he publish it, I fear he will
immortalize this quicksand adventure, and say, “being unable to discover
the river Saraswati above ground, we were searching for it in the regions
below.”
_Nov. 13th._—We were out riding about 5 A.M.; the sky was cloudy, with a
rainy appearance, and we saw a great number of meteors falling in every
direction; at first I did not know what they were; afterwards I counted
eight; two of them fell, leaving a stream of blue light for a second, and
then vanished. I never before observed these meteors.
The followers of the Prophet assert, that falling stars are believed by
the idolaters to be on account of the birth or death of some great man;
but are in reality weapons thrown at the devils. While the friends of
Muhammud were sitting with him one night, a very bright star shot; and
his Highness said, “What did you say in the days of ignorance when a
Star shot like this?” They said, “God and his messenger know best; we
used to say, A great man was born to-night, and a great man died.” Then
his Majesty said, “You mistook; because the shooting of these stars are
neither for the life nor death of any person; but when our Cherisher
orders a work, the bearers of the imperial throne sing hallelujahs; and
the inhabitants of the regions who are near the bearers repeat it, till
it reaches the lowest regions. After that, the angels which are near
the bearers of the imperial throne say, ‘What did the Cherisher order?’
Then they are informed; and so it is handed from one region to another,
till the information reaches the people of the lowest region. Then the
devils steal it, and carry it to their friends, that is, magicians; and
these stars are thrown at these devils; not for the birth or death of any
person. Then the things which the magicians tell, having heard from the
devils, are true; but these magicians tell lies, and exaggerate in what
they hear.” Kutadah said, “God has created stars for three uses; one of
them, as a cause of ornament of the regions; the second, to stone the
devil with; the third, to direct people going through forests, and on
the sea. Therefore, whoever shall explain them otherwise does wrong, and
loses his time, and speaks from his own invention, and embellishes[97].”
An officer in the sixteenth lancers, at Cawnpore, thus describes some
meteors he saw on the 12th of this month. “On going to field exercise
this morning, soon after daybreak, the air presented a very singular
phenomenon, being as it were filled with innumerable meteors, descending
like vivid streaks of fire. These continued for about half-an-hour, and
one passed so near me as to frighten my horse.”.
_Nov. 22nd._—Two days ago there was an immense flight of locusts; we
caught a great number. The natives turned out, and with hideous noises,
waving flags and sticks, drove them from settling on their plantations.
The jamadar has just brought in a curious pigeon; it has four legs; the
pair in front have four toes like all pigeons’ feet, the other pair are
placed behind, they are smaller, and each foot has only two toes; all the
four legs hang down, after the fashion in which pigeons wear their legs.
What strange people these natives are! A traveller who came here this
morning complained to my husband that his coachman and sā’īs had robbed
and beaten him. The coachman said, “The traveller was going a short cut
to the bazār by a road in your grounds you had ordered to be stopped; we
turned him back, therefore we had a quarrel.” The traveller, to spite
them, hung himself on a tree opposite the stables, and was cut down by
the guard. Natives are fond of hanging themselves for spite when they are
_sure of being cut down_! It is better to let them please themselves, if
you do they will seldom kill themselves in reality; a good caning in such
circumstances would be of great service.
A man has brought a heron’s plume for sale; the natives put them into
jewelled ornaments on their turbans, called jika, and also on the heads
of their horses. These feathers are extremely expensive in Paris; I was
asked two hundred francs for a small plume.
The pine-apple shaped figure on the Cashmere shawls is the representation
of the jewelled jika worn in front of the turban; the plume rises from it.
Speaking of the guard, who cut down the traveller who hung himself, I
must remark, we had a guard of twelve sipahīs and a hawāldār; a sentry in
front of the guard-room kept the time by striking the hours on a gong;
_non mi recordo_, how I became possessed of the following scientific
description of the Ghurī, which I insert on account of its excellence.
“The Brahmanical method of computing time, which is generally followed
all over India, is this:—
“60 Nimeshu, or twinklings of the human eye, are considered equal to one
Pal.
“60 Pals equal to one Ghurī.
“60 Ghurīs to one day and night.
“60 Days and nights one Ritu.
“6 Ritu (seasons of two calendar months each) one solar year.
“60 Solar years one cycle.
“And during that period they believe that a complete revolution of
terrestrial circumstances takes place. The only method of measuring the
ghurī is by the simple clepsydra, formed of a brass cup, perforated with
a single hole in the bottom, and placed in a vessel of water: the cup
floats on the water, filling and sinking by degrees; when full the cup
sinks, and the hour is completed. The cup is merely of brass or copper,
beaten out very thin, without any marks or gradations upon it. When the
cup sinks, the hour is struck upon a gong, which is generally hung upon
three bamboos. The ghurī, or copper cup, floats usually in a vessel of
coarse red pottery filled with water, called a nān.”
In the plate entitled “The Thug’s Dice,” figure 1 represents a sipahī,
with the stick in his hand, watching the brass cup, which is just on the
point of sinking; the moment it disappears, he will strike the gong; a
spare cup is on the ground, by the side of the nān, or large earthen
vessel that holds the water.
I have received a present that pleases me greatly, a sitar, a musical
instrument, in general use all over India; it was made at Lucnow from a
hollow gourd, and is very beautifully put together. It has four strings;
the first is of steel wire, the two next are of brass wire, and the
fourth and smallest of steel. It is played with the first finger of the
right hand alone, on which is placed a little steel wire frame, called a
misrāb, with which the strings are struck; the left hand stops the notes
on the frets, but you only stop the notes on the first string; the other
three strings produce a sort of pedal sound as the misrāb passes over
them, from the manner in which they are tuned. The instrument is most
elegantly formed.
The ektara, a one-stringed instrument, as the name implies, is used by
wandering minstrels. A man of this description, the veritable Paganini of
the East, appeared before me the other day; he was an Hindoo mendicant,
carrying an ektara, which was formed of a gourd; and on its one string
he played in a strange and peculiar style. From the upper end of the
ektara two peacock’s feathers were displayed. The man’s attire was a
rope around his waist, and a bit of cloth; a black blanket hung over his
shoulder; on his forehead, breast, and arms were the sectarial marks, and
the brahmanical thread was over his shoulder; three necklaces and one
bracelet completed the costume. His hair fell to his shoulders, and, like
all natives, he wore a moustache. My friends laugh at me when I play on
the sitar, and ask, “Why do you not put a peacock’s feather at the end of
it?”
_Dec. 1st._—We have become great farmers, having sown our crop of oats,
and are building outhouses to receive some thirty-four dwarf cows and
oxen (gynees), which are to be fed up for the table, and produced after
some eight months’ stuffing. The gynee club consists of eight members,
and it gives us better food than we could procure from the bazār: “Whose
dog am I that I should eat from the bazār?”
A little distance from the stacks the unmuzzled bullocks are treading
out the corn: “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.”
This patriarchal method breaks and renders the straw soft and friable;
the corn is winnowed by taking it up in a basket and pouring it out; the
grain falls to the ground, while the west wind blows the chaff into a
heap beyond. The corn is deposited in a large pit, which has been duly
prepared by having had the walls well dried and hardened from a fire
burning in it for many days. These pits are carefully concealed by the
natives, and their armies have people, called soonghees or smellers,
whose business it is to find out these underground and secret granaries.
Our friend Col. Gardner is still at Lucnow, which, in all probability,
will speedily be taken into the hands of the British government for _its
better protection_! The King has lately dismissed a man of great talent,
who was his prime minister, and put in a fool by way of a change. The
consequence is already felt in the accounts of the royal treasury. It
is said it is impossible to collect the revenue without force, and that
where that has been used, his Majesty’s forces have been beaten.
A friend writes from England, “I shall always regret having quitted India
without having seen Col. Gardner and the Taj.”
He is a very remarkable man; his age nearly seventy, I believe. I had
a long letter from him two days since, full of all the playfulness of
youth, and of all kindness. I never met so entertaining or so instructive
a companion; his life, if he would publish it, would be indeed a legacy,
and shame our modern biography.
_20th._—For the first time this year it has been cold enough to collect
ice; during my early ride this morning I saw the coolies gathering it
into the pits.