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BERTHA’S
VISIT TO HER UNCLE
IN
ENGLAND.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
MDCCCXXX.
LONDON:
Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES,
Stamford-street.
BERTHA’S VISIT.
_Dec. 1st._--COLONEL TRAVERS, who every day tells us something curious
that he has seen in his travels, has been describing the cultivation of
the pepper vine in the East Indies. In July, at the beginning of the
rainy season, from eight to twelve shoots are planted round some tree
chosen for their support; as they grow up they must be tied to its stem,
and in dry or hot weather they are watered. They begin to bear in six
years; in ten, they are in full perfection, and continue so for twenty
years more, when they die. When the fruit is intended for _black_
pepper, it is not allowed to ripen, but collected while green. As soon
as the berries become hard and firm, which happens between the middle of
December and the middle of January, they are pinched off by the fingers,
placed on a mat, and rubbed by the hands or feet till the seeds, several
of which are contained in each berry, are separated. These seeds are
then spread on mats; and at night they are collected in earthen jars,
to preserve them from the dew. Two or three days’ exposure to the sun
sufficiently dries them, when they are put up in bags, containing from
60 to 120 pounds, and are then considered fit for sale. When the berries
are intended to produce _white_ pepper, they are allowed to become
perfectly ripe, in which state they are red. They are then well rubbed
in a basket, and when the pulp is washed off, the seeds are white, and
are immediately dried for sale. The vines, however, in this case are apt
to die, and in the province of Malabar but little white pepper is now
made.
A good plant produces about 32 pounds: this is the highest produce; 21
pounds is the average. The _mango_ tree is preferred for supporting the
pepper vine, as the fruit is not affected by it; but the fruit of the
_jack_ tree, which is also used for the purpose, is thought to be
injured in flavour by the pepper being so near it.
The Colonel says, that the pepper plant is not a vine in reality, though
the knotted stem when dry has much the appearance of a common grape
vine. The leaf, too, is different, being pointed, and with deep veins in
it, all meeting at the point.
_2d._--Caroline amused us after dinner with a singular anecdote of a
musician of the name of Davy; though she was at first unwilling to
relate it, as she could not remember her authority.
He was the son of a Devonshire farmer, and when a little boy used to go
continually to a neighbouring forge, where he seemed to be strangely
interested in examining and sounding the horse-shoes.
After some time, the smith having frequently missed his shoes, began to
suspect young Davy of stealing them; the boy was, therefore, watched,
and one day he was observed to have separated two shoes from a parcel
which he had been sounding for a long time. He took them up and went
quietly off, but was followed, and traced to a loft, where he had formed
a hiding-place for himself, unknown to any of his family. There he was
found arranging his newly stolen treasure among a number of other
horse-shoes which he had suspended with iron wires, so as to form a sort
of musical instrument, on which with a small hammer he could play
several tunes; particularly one with variations, which he had often
heard chimed in the parish steeple.
The generous blacksmith not only forbore from punishing him, but joined
in a subscription, by means of which he was apprenticed to a famous
musician.--So much for genius.
_4th, Sunday._--My uncle read to us this morning the account in Exodus
of the institution of the feast of the Passover. It took place in the
beginning of the sacred or ecclesiastical year, in the month named
_Abib_, which signifies, he says, an ear of corn; but this month was
afterwards called _Nisan_, which means the “flight,” in allusion to the
escape of the Israelites. It was at this same season that our Lord
suffered for our redemption; and it is a remarkable circumstance that
there was always a tradition among the Jews, that as they were redeemed
from Egypt on the 15th day of Nisan, so they should on the same day be
redeemed from death by the Messiah.
My uncle then said, “many of the ceremonial laws of the Hebrews had a
direct reference to the idolatrous opinions and rites of the
neighbouring nations. For instance, some of the ordinances of the
passover, which was, you know, a memorial of the deliverance of the
Israelites, were strikingly in opposition to the most deep-rooted
prejudices of the Egyptians. Amongst that people, lambs and kids were
held in the utmost veneration, and never sacrificed; but the Israelites
were instructed to sacrifice both. The Israelites were desired to ‘eat
no part raw,’ which might appear a very unnecessary injunction, did we
not know that it was usual to do so in the heathen festivals, as we
learn from Herodotus and from Plutarch, who both mention it as being
customary at the feasts of Bacchus, which had their origin in Egypt. Of
the Paschal lamb, ‘no bone was to be broken;’ for on those occasions
the heathens broke the bones, and pulled them asunder with frantic
enthusiasm. Neither was it to be ‘sodden,’ as in their magical rites:
but roasted by fire, and not by the heat of the sun, which was one of
the chief objects of their idolatry. It was to be eaten along with ‘the
purtenance,’ that is, the intestines, which the heathens reserved for
their impious divinations. Lastly, ‘no fragments’ were suffered to
remain, because the superstitious multitude had been in the habit of
preserving them for _charms_; and they were, therefore, ordered to be
burned.
“The lamb or kid was to be slain in the evening; the Hebrew expression
is literally ‘_between the two evenings_;’--for among the Jews there was
an early and a later evening; the first beginning at noon, as soon as
the sun began to decline, and the second at sunset, which at this season
of the year, the vernal equinox, took place at six o’clock. Thus the
time ‘between the two evenings,’ when the passover was slain, was about
three o’clock in the afternoon; and this was the very time of the day
when Christ, the true passover, was sacrificed on the cross.
“What a striking analogy there is,” continued my uncle, “between that
typical sacrifice of the Paschal lamb, and the grand sacrifice of Him
who is called ‘the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the
world;’--between the deliverance of the Israelites from bondage, and the
deliverance of mankind from sin, by a final atonement, which for ever
closed all other offerings and sacrifices.”
I asked why they were desired to eat unleavened bread at this feast; and
my aunt told us that some authors suppose it was to remind them of the
privations and hardships they had formerly endured in Egypt, as it is
very heavy and disagreeable. “But,” she added, “I have also understood
that, in the ancient figurative mode, of expression, _leaven_ was the
emblem of hypocrisy and artifice; and therefore that eating the passover
with unleavened bread, implied the performance of the ceremony in
sincerity and truth. They were commanded to eat it with ‘their shoes on
their feet, and their staff in their hand,’ or, in other words, equipped
for a journey. It appears to have been, and indeed is still, the
universal custom of the inhabitants of the East to put off their shoes
during their meals; not only because that is a period of enjoyment and
repose, but because, to people who sit cross-legged on the floor, shoes
would be troublesome, and would soil their clothes and their carpets.
This solemn meal, on the contrary, which was intended to commemorate
their miraculous and abrupt deliverance from Egypt, was to be eaten by
the Israelites in the dress and posture of travellers, as if ready for
immediate departure.”
My uncle gave us an amusing instance of the punctilious regard that the
Jews pay to the letter of the law; which not only prohibits their eating
leavened bread, but their having it at all in the house. In Exodus xiii.
7, it is written, “Neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all
thy quarters.” On the eve of the passover, the master of the family,
attended by all his children and servants, formally search every corner
of the house with candles in their hands; but why with candles?--because
in the prophet Zephaniah i., 12, it is written, “I will search Jerusalem
with candles.”
“This feast,” continued my uncle, “was called the Passover, because the
destroying angel of God passed over the Israelites without smiting them;
and to pass over is a literal translation of the Hebrew word _pesach_.
From whence also we have the expression of the Paschal Lamb.
“The deliverance from Egyptian bondage was a specific type of our
subsequent deliverance from the yoke of sin, which we commemorate in the
sacrament of the Lord’s supper; and it is remarkable, that both the
Jewish and the Christian rite were enjoined as memorials of events which
had not yet happened. To all mankind the privileges of this great
second deliverance are offered; and let us remember that, like the
Israelites, we are but strangers and pilgrims here, hastening on to a
_land of promise_.”
_6th._--Mary asked Colonel Travers to-day why rice is called _paddy_ in
the East Indies. He told us that the wet lands capable of being
cultivated for rice, are called, in the province of Malabar, _padda_
land; and thence has the name paddy been given to the grain before the
husk is beaten off. It is cultivated in all the low grounds which are
periodically overflowed; or where the water can be regularly let in.
Sometimes it is sown dry, on fields properly ploughed and moistened
beforehand, and when the leaf is a certain height, the water is gently
let into the furrows; but in many places it is sown very thickly, and
afterwards transplanted. The general mode of preparing the seed is to
steep it in water, and then to mix it up with earth in a shed, where it
heats a little, and soon sprouts: when the shoot is nearly two inches
long, it is carried in baskets to the field, and planted in rows.
The operation of cleaning rice is assisted by boiling for a short time;
after which it is beaten in a mortar with a stick five or six feet long,
the bottom of which is shod with iron. But the rice used by the higher
class of Brahmins is not boiled, lest it should be in any way defiled:
it is every morning cleaned dry by one of the family, the labour of
which is very great, because the husk adheres so closely to the grain.
Paddy is often kept in small caves called hagay, the entrance to each of
which is by a very narrow passage. The roof, floor, and sides are lined
with clean straw, and the cave is then completely filled.
Colonel Travers is just like my uncle, he is so ready to answer all our
troublesome questions; and you may suppose that some of us ladies asked
him about the ottar of roses. He says that the rose from which that
essential oil is made, grows only in the valley of Shiraz, where there
are immense fields of it. The flower is small, and of a deep red, and
quite a different species from the _rosa indica_. It does not thrive
south of Shiraz, as the climate is too hot; and the plants which have
been brought to Bombay have generally failed.
We have had several rainy days, on which it was impossible to walk out;
though it seldom happens, my uncle says, in this climate that there is
not some part of the day quite fair.
The gravel walks here dry quickly, but nobody seems to care much about
wet or dirt, their feet are so well defended from damp; and my aunt has
provided me with all the comfortable preservatives from wet that my
cousins have, so I force myself to go out and to take long walks.
Sometimes we visit the poor people, to whom a little sympathy and
kindness seem to be a great comfort; and the school is so near the
shrubbery, that, unless the rain is very heavy, Caroline contrives to go
there every day.
When we are so much confined as we have been for the three last days, we
take care to practise well at battledore and shuttlecock; yesterday
evening I kept it up to three hundred. Sometimes four of us play at once
without any confusion; and sometimes even my uncle joins us. My aunt
encourages us to exercise ourselves with active plays; and if you and
Marianne could peep at us, you would be amused at the vigour and
emulation with which we perform Puss in the corner, and Friar’s ground,
or “turn the blindfold hero round and round.” After luncheon is
generally the time for these “laborious sports;” Grace, of course,
delights in them, and my uncle and aunt seem fully to enjoy our glee and
gaiety; for exercise and recreation, they say, should be mixed
sufficiently with all our studious employments. You will smile when I
confess that much as I like them now, I felt at first that these
“romps,” as I called them, were rather too childish: my aunt told me to
do as I liked; but, as I found that I only appeared conceited by sitting
still, I soon conquered these silly feelings.
I have nothing more to say, except that I have begun to read Rollin’s
Ancient History; for the purpose of comparing the sacred and profane
parts, and because I have some idea of endeavouring to make an
historical chart for myself, which shall combine those two objects.
_7th._--Ducks were the subject of discussion this morning at breakfast.
My aunt told us that the Chinese, by whom great numbers are consumed,
usually hatch them by artificial heat. The eggs are placed in boxes of
sand, upon a brick hearth, which is kept at a proper degree of warmth,
during the process; and the ducklings are fed with boiled rice, crabs,
and cray-fish for a fortnight. They are then supplied with an old
_stepmother_, who leads them where they can find food; being first put
into a boat which is to be their constant habitation, and from which the
whole flock, perhaps three or four hundred, go out to feed, and return
at command.
The masters of the duck-boats row up and down the rivers according to
the opportunity of procuring food; and these birds obey them in an
extraordinary manner. Several thousands, belonging to different boats,
may be seen feeding in the same place, yet on a signal, each flock will
follow their leader to their respective boats without a single stranger
having intruded.
Colonel Travers told us, that in a description of the south coast of
Asia Minor, which he had lately read, a duck of extraordinary beauty is
mentioned. The plumage is white, with orange and dark glossy spots which
are large and distinct, and in the males extremely brilliant. They fly
in pairs, and their cry is loud and incessant. These ducks chiefly
inhabit the cliffs of an island, and are peculiar to that part of the
shore; and the author adds, what Colonel Travers considers to be a very
singular fact--that, although the whole coast lies in nearly the same
parallel of latitude, yet several species of the feathered race seem to
be confined to particular districts.--For instance, at the western end,
there were multitudes of the red-legged partridge; the middle of the
coast was occupied by crows, and every hole and crevice in every rock
had its family of pigeons; then came the ducks, and when they
disappeared, the elevated cliffs seemed to be usurped by eagles. As he
advanced still further to the eastward, even the common gull, which is
so plentiful every where else, became scarce, but its place was filled
by swarms of the noisy sea-mew; and at the furthest extremity of the
coast, he entered a shallow bay which was covered with swans, geese, and
pelicans.
_8th._--Mary was quite triumphant to-day in our genius argument, and
produced two examples on her side, which she said were very strong.
The celebrated Dolomieu, she told us, entered very early in life into
the religious order of Malta; but having unfortunately resented some
insult and killed his adversary, he was condemned to die, it being
contrary to the rules of the order to use arms against any one but an
“enemy of the Faith.” The grand-master, however, pardoned him; but the
pardon not being immediately confirmed by the Pope, he continued in
captivity nine months, before he was released. By this time, Dolomieu
had become, as it were, a new man; the solitude and silence of his
prison, and the necessity of dispelling his inquietude by occupation,
had given him a habit of deep meditation; and he determined to devote
the rest of his life to the acquirement of knowledge. He hesitated for
some time between classical literature and natural history; but, at
length, decided for the latter, in which he afterwards made so
conspicuous a figure.
It cannot be denied, Mary says, that this is a proof that the mind may
be led by circumstances to any pursuit. She then gave us some anecdotes
of Baron Guyton de Morveau, as being still more favourable to her
system.
“Guyton’s education was not neglected in the common routine of classical
and theoretical learning; but his father, who had a passion for
building, employed various artificers about his house, and young Guyton
insensibly caught a taste for mechanics. This, which might have been
considered as a natural inclination, was merely the effect of example;
and it was further excited by a circumstance that happened during his
vacation: at a public sale in the neighbourhood, an old clock had
remained unsold, owing to its bad condition, and he persuaded his father
to give six francs for it. The ardent boy soon took it to pieces and
cleaned it; he even added some parts that were wanting, and put the
whole in order without assistance. In 1799, that is, fifty-four years
afterwards, this clock was purchased at a higher price than was given
for the estate and house together where it had originally been sold;
having during the whole of that time preserved its movement in the most
satisfactory manner. He once undertook the same operation for his
mother’s watch, and succeeded perfectly, though he was then only eight
years of age. These details are sufficient to shew how impossible it is
to predict, from the whims of childhood, the vocation likely to engage
any individual at a more advanced period of life.--This little boy
appeared to have a genius for mechanics, in consequence of circumstances
attending his infancy--but no one has shewn less taste for mechanics
than Guyton de Morveau, during his long and brilliant career as a
chemical philosopher.”
_9th._--My uncle told us to-day a curious mode of catching fish by
diving, which is practised in the Gulf of Patrasso, in Greece, and which
is, he believes, peculiar to that place.
The diver being provided with a rope, made of a species of long grass,
moves his boat where he perceives there is a rocky bottom: this done, he
throws the rope out so as to form a tolerably large circle; and such is
the timid nature of the fish, that instead of rushing away, they never
attempt to pass this imaginary barrier, which acts as a sort of
talisman; they only descend to the bottom, and endeavour to conceal
themselves amongst the rocks. After waiting a few moments till the charm
has taken effect, the diver plunges in, and generally returns with
several fine fish. As he seldom finds more than their heads concealed,
there is the less difficulty in taking his prizes; and these divers are
so dexterous that they have a method of securing four or five fish under
each arm, beside what they can carry in their hands.
The effect of the circle formed by the rope reminded Frederick of the
singular manner in which pelicans and cormorants catch fish in concert
with each other. They spread into a large circle, at some distance from
land; the pelicans flapping on the surface of the water with their great
wings, and the cormorants diving beneath, till the fish contained within
the circle are driven before them towards the land. As the circle
becomes contracted, by the birds drawing closer together, the fish are
at length brought within a narrow compass, where their pursuers find no
difficulty in securing them.
One species of cormorant is so docile, Frederick added, that they are
trained by the Chinese to fish for their masters. Sir George Staunton
saw several boats with a dozen of these birds in each; at a signal they
plunged into the water, and quickly returned with a prize in their
mouths, which they never attempted to swallow without permission.
My aunt said that those birds were formerly kept in this country for the
same purpose; but the English cormorants were not so tractable, for a
thong was tied round their neck to prevent their eating the fish.
Charles the First, she says, had his master of cormorants as well as his
falconers.
_11th, Sunday._--My uncle this morning repeated his advice never to
allow ourselves to judge of detached phrases or single texts in the
Bible, without carefully comparing them with similar passages in other
parts; and he added, that it was very unjust to charge the Bible with
the errors of its translators, or to ascribe the mistakes and
inconsistencies of human learning to the inspired original. “The wonder
is,” he says, “not that there are some mistakes, but that there are not
many more, and that of those there should be so few of importance. It
is, however, the duty of every body to make known those errors, slight
as they are, and to try to remove all blemishes from a work of such high
importance, as a correct translation in our own language. Words have now
a much more definite meaning than they had a few centuries ago; and some
words may then have fairly conveyed the original sense which is now
greatly perverted by their continuance.
“For instance, in Exodus iii. 22, it appears that every woman is
enjoined to _borrow_ of her neighbour valuable jewels and raiment, and
then to keep possession of them. But children,” said he, “should be
taught that the Hebrew word, which our translators have rendered
_borrow_, signifies to ask as a _gift_. It is the very word used in
Psalm ii. 8,--‘Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance;’ and the fact was this: God told Moses that the Israelites
should not go out of Egypt empty, but that every woman should ask her
neighbour for certain valuable presents, and that He would dispose the
Egyptians to give them. And all this seems to have been perfectly just,
when you consider the slavery that the Israelites had been obliged to
endure, and the hardships which had been inflicted on them, not only by
the king, but by the people, who ‘made their lives bitter with hard
bondage.’
“Josephus, the Jewish historian, represents this transaction agreeably
to the true sense of the sacred text. He says, ‘the Egyptians made gifts
to the Hebrews; some in order to induce them to depart quickly, and
others on account of their neighbourhood and friendship for them.’
“As an additional confirmation of this being the true meaning of the
expression,” my uncle continued, “we may recollect that the custom of
giving, receiving, and even demanding presents is common to all parts of
the East at this day; it is especially practised on the arrival or
taking leave of strangers, and therefore may be well applied, in this
case, to the departure of the Israelites. It seems to have been the same
in all ages; for I need scarcely remind you of the ‘gold, and spices of
very great store, and precious stones,’ that the Queen of Sheba gave to
Solomon; nor of the magnificent gifts he presented to her when she was
going away, even ‘all her desire, whatsoever she _asked_, beside that
which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty.’ Nor is this exchange of
presents looked upon as any degradation to dignity, nor any mark of a
rapacious meanness.
“I have been the more desirous to explain that passage, because, from
the ambiguity of one word the Israelites have been accused of cheating
the Egyptians; and, what is of more consequence, it has been said that
they were commanded to do so. But when the word is corrected, you see
that these calumnies at once fall to the ground. And I would recommend
you all to adopt a general rule in reading the scriptures, of which I
have found the benefit. Whenever you meet with any expression that seems
to be inconsistent with the moral justice of God--pause--compare the
different parts where the same, or a similar phrase, occurs, and, before
you come to a rash conclusion, study the acceptation that the words had
at the period when the present version was made. If it requires a
knowledge of the original language, apply to some learned person; not so
much to reason for you, as to furnish the data on which to satisfy
yourselves. However bounded may be our notions of the qualities of the
Deity, and though his attributes far transcend our conception, yet it is
certain that our ideas of justice must have been derived from principles
implanted by Him; and no decree of His can ever be contrary to that
justice--for the nature of God is immutable: He is ‘the same yesterday,
to-day, and for ever.’”
_12th._--I am sure, Mamma, that you must feel very grateful to Colonel
Travers for all the interesting things which I have picked up from him,
and which I put in my journal for your amusement. To-day there was a
conversation about our fisheries, and he related two facts which I am in
hopes will be quite new to you.
You know that the great cod fishery which supplies almost all Europe
with salt-fish, is on the sand-bank that extends from the island of
Newfoundland. The water is from twenty to sixty fathoms in depth; and
when the Colonel was returning from Canada with his regiment, he
persuaded the Captain of the ship to stop for some hours on this bank,
in order to catch cod for the soldiers. He saw a great many hooked with
long lines and pulled up; and he observed, that when that was done very
rapidly the air-bladder burst, and pushed part of the stomach out of the
mouth. He explained to us that it is the air-bladder that enables fish
to raise or lower themselves in the water, by taking in or letting out
more or less air; but this they can only do gradually; and therefore
when the air has been highly condensed at the bottom of the sea, the
pressure of fifty or sixty fathoms of water, it expands the bladder more
quickly than the fish has the power of giving it vent. The air-bladder
is _cured_ or salted with the fish, and is then called the sound.
This led the conversation to the different depths which are inhabited by
different classes of fish. My uncle told us that turbots, soles, and
other flat fish, are not furnished with an air-bladder, because they
never quit the bottom of the sea; and Colonel Travers, to prove that
some fish are not intended to sink very far below the surface, mentioned
the following curious circumstance. When a whale is attacked by a
sword-fish, he immediately dives; and the sword-fish, not being
calculated by Nature to bear the enormous pressure of the sea at very
great depth, is obliged to withdraw his weapon;--if he cannot speedily
extricate it, he dies. My uncle said that this fact helped to explain
the facility with which those great monsters are killed by our Greenland
fishermen: when a whale is struck by a harpoon, he imagines it to be a
sword-fish, and, as usual, dives; this he does with such velocity, that
the harpooner is obliged to throw water on the part of the boat over
which the harpoon-line runs, to prevent its taking fire; but the power
of diving is probably limited even in a whale, and the length of line,
perhaps a mile or two, which he has taken out and is obliged to drag
through the water, at last tires him--he stops--and the men, by slowly
pulling in the line, in fact haul the boat towards him; again he sets
off--he is again tired--and is ultimately exhausted and killed by
fatigue! If he ran straight out, near the surface, no line could be long
enough, or strong enough, to check him--whenever a whale does do so, the
line snaps, and he escapes.
_13th._--The last thing that Colonel Travers told us--for I am sorry to
say he is gone away--was a pretty little story that he learned at
Ceylon.
When the pearl-fishing in Condatchy Bay is going on, which is, he says,
a most lively, amusing scene, the Indians of the continent attend in
great numbers, and being occasionally employed, they find ample
opportunity to exercise their dexterity in sleight of hand, and every
sort of roguery. A set of these Indians contrived an ingenious method of
cheating the boat-owner who employed them to open his oysters. While one
of them made a preconcerted signal, whenever any pearls worth stealing
were found, another at the same moment pretended to conceal about him a
few small ones, and while he thus attracted the attention of the
superintendents and occasioned some bustle, the real thief was able to
secrete his prize.
This contrivance was discovered by one of the poor Ceylonese who
attended the washing of the pearls; he made it known to the master of
the boat, and then, having reason to dread the vengeance of the thieves,
he immediately fled. For some days he proceeded without shelter, till
arriving at the hut of a farmer, who lived near a cinnamon plantation
belonging to government, he supplicated him for relief and a lodging.
This man was very poor; he had a large family, and could with difficulty
shelter the fugitive for one night; besides, suspecting that the story
was not quite true, and that it was the thief instead of the informer
who told it, he was not willing to let him continue there, lest it
should bring himself under suspicion. The Ceylonese was hurt at a doubt
which he so ill deserved, and left the farmer early next morning,
wandering he knew not whither, till he found himself, just when the sun
was at its height, in a tangled and extensive forest; there he sat down
to rest under a banyan-tree, whose self-rooted branches, entwined with
creepers, had become nearly impenetrable;--and there he determined to
remain, as long as the forest supplied him with fruit and wild honey.
Fear had taken such possession of him, that he was afraid to venture
back to the more inhabited parts of the country; and yet he was here in
equal dread of the _Bedahs_, a race who live in the forests and
mountains, and who refuse to associate with the more civilized
Ceylonese.
It is supposed, Colonel Travers told us, that the Bedahs are descended
from the original inhabitants; and that, having fled from the Ceylonese
invaders, they have retained, with their ancient customs, their hatred
and fear of the invaders. They live by hunting, they sleep in the trees,
placing thorns and bushes on the ground round them to give warning of
approaching wild beasts; and on every alarm a Bedah climbs the highest
branches with the expertness of a monkey.
There are some tribes of the Bedahs in the southern part of the island
who are rather less wild, and who even carry on a little traffic with
the Ceylonese; but they are so afraid of being made prisoners, that when
they want to procure cloth, knives, iron, or any thing of that kind,
they approach the town where it is to be had, at night, and deposit in a
conspicuous place a fair quantity of goods, such as ivory, or honey,
along with a _talipot_ leaf, on which they contrive to express what they
want in exchange. On the next night they return, and generally find what
they had demanded; for if their requests are neglected they seldom fail
to revenge themselves.
Fruits of various kinds are so abundant in Ceylon, that for some time
our poor fugitive was supplied with tolerable sustenance; and he often
refreshed himself with the pure limpid water found in the Bandura, a
most curious plant, whose leaves terminate in a kind of tube which
contains nearly half a pint of water covered by a little valve. At last,
anxiety brought on a low fever, his strength failed, and he lay under
the banyan expecting to die of hunger. Early one morning he was roused
from a sort of half stupor, by hearing the low growl of a dog; and on
opening his eyes, he saw a man stooping to place something near him; he
tried to speak--but the person had vanished. He had perceived, however,
by his tall light figure and his copper complexion, that the stranger
was a Bedah; and this would have been a very terrific idea, had he not
smiled as he went away, and pointed to a little basket that he had left.
Plantains and refreshing fruits were again within his reach; and the
poor starving man ate thankfully, and felt as if he should live. Every
morning he found a fresh supply in the same place; and as his strength
began to return, the Bedah, besides the basket of fruit, added some more
nutritious food. This was dried meat preserved in honey, to keep it from
the air; and tied up in a particular substance which grows on the betel
tree, at the root of each leaf; it somewhat resembles a tough skin, and
is of so strong a texture, that it retains water. He wished to thank the
Bedah, and frequently beckoned to him to stay; but the good natured
savage shook his head, and disappeared.
When he felt himself quite recovered, and his strength restored, he
resolved to procure employment, if possible, in the cinnamon groves. The
grand harvest, which lasts from April to August, had begun, and he hoped
that in some of the various processes of cutting, scraping, or barking,
which are parcelled out among several classes of peelers, or
_choliahs_, he might find work.
On his way from the forest, in passing by the same house where he had
been permitted to lodge one night, he perceived that the farmer’s cattle
had broken through the inclosure and made their way to the cinnamon
trees, on which they were then feasting. This tree is such a favourite
with cattle that they break down every fence to get to it; and most of
the natives who live in the neighbourhood of those plantations are
deterred from having cows, because all that are found trespassing there
are forfeited.--This poor creature knew that, by giving information to
the head officer, he might receive a reward which would relieve him from
distress; but he had a more generous mind. He hastened to the farmer,
and assisted him to drive back the cows and repair the fence, before
they were discovered. The farmer was anxious to shew his gratitude, and
he felt convinced that he had wronged him by his former suspicion. By
his recommendation to the superintendent of the cinnamon groves, our
wandering Ceylonese obtained employment, and in a short time felt
himself so happy, that he had reason to reflect with satisfaction on his
honesty and generosity.
As soon as he was able to save a little money, he purchased some few
articles which he thought might be acceptable to the friendly Bedah; and
by setting out in the night he arrived early in the morning at the
forest, and deposited his offering on the very spot where, for so many
successive days, the food had been placed which saved his life. In vain
he delayed there in hopes of seeing the Bedah, till he was obliged to
return to his work; but as he heard the well known growl at no great
distance, he knew that he was observed, and that his present would be
found. Colonel T. says, that the dogs of the Bedahs are remarkable for
their sagacity in tracing game and in distinguishing the scent of
different animals. On the approach of a stranger, or of any dangerous
beast, they first put their master on his guard, and then help to defend
him; and so invaluable are they to this tribe, that when their daughters
marry, these dogs form their portion.
Our industrious Ceylonese had built a hut during his residence at the
cinnamon plantation; it was formed from a single cocoa nut tree; the
stem furnished posts; the branches supplied rafters, and the leaves
formed a covering sufficient to repel both sun and rain. The Ceylonese
huts are fastened entirely by withes of ratan, or by _coya_ rope, which
is made of the fibrous threads of the husk of the cocoa nut. They are
sometimes strengthened with slender pieces of wood or bamboo, and daubed
over with clay; and round the walls are benches to sit or to sleep on.
Colonel Travers took the opportunity of telling us, that the cinnamon
twigs are first scraped with a peculiar kind of knife, convex at one
side, and concave opposite; the bark is then slit with the point, and
the convex side of the knife is used to loosen it, till it can be taken
off entire; it appears like a tube in that state, and the pieces are
laid one within another, and spread to dry. When quite dried they are
tied up in bundles of about thirty pounds weight, and are carried by the
choliahs to the cinnamon store-houses at Columbo.
Being no longer afraid of the pearl-gatherers, he returned to Condatchy;
and as it is a usual practice to search for pearls which may by chance
have dropped from the oysters while they lie in the pits, he also went
to see how far his present good fortune would continue to befriend him.
Those pits are dug about two feet deep in the ground, and lined with
mats; and the oysters are left there to putrefy, as they are then easily
opened without injuring the pearls. His search was successful beyond his
hopes; he found a pearl of uncommon size, and joyfully carried it to the
collector, who rewarded him with a large sum of money.
It is easy, dear Mamma, to guess the rest of the story. He bought cloth,
axes, knives, and various useful things; and making his way once more
to the banyan tree, he laid these offerings of gratitude in the spot so
well known to him and the good Bedah--and again he heard the faithful
dog growl his knowledge of his being there. He then visited the farmer,
and found him in the greatest distress; for his cattle having again
trespassed on the cinnamon grounds they had been all seized. The
kind-hearted Ceylonese bestowed on him a sum more than sufficient to
replace his cows, and it was difficult to say which felt the most
happy--the farmer suddenly relieved, or the generous creature who
relieved him.
_16th._--We all petitioned my uncle to read the Tempest to us yesterday
evening. He consented, upon condition that Mary should assist; and it
was arranged that she should read the parts of Miranda and Ariel.
Mary is so timid, that she does not like even such a moderate
exhibition: she complied, however, and they both read so delightfully,
that every one perceived beauties in that play which they had never
noticed before. At the end of each act we talked it over; and my uncle
encouraged every one to give their opinions, which he says is the best
way of compelling people to think.
My aunt said that none of Shakespeare’s plays are so perfect as to the
time in which the action takes place, as the Tempest, or displays so
much imagination; for, while he seems to leave one at liberty to wander
through the wild and the wonderful, yet such is the correctness of his
taste, that in this piece he never suffers it to pass the bounds of
consistency.
Caroline was most pleased with the part of the “delicate” Ariel. “It is
quite charming,” she said, “he is so well imagined: his qualities and
offices and his expressions are so suitable to each other, and so nicely
described by himself. Besides, he seems so amiable and good-natured to
the shipwrecked strangers, that even while we consider him as the artful
agent of the magician, he seems to have the qualities of almost a
celestial being.”
I asked her which she liked best, Ariel, or the fairy sprites in
Midsummer Night’s Dream. “Like you, Bertha, I delight in all
Shakspeare’s fairy-land,” said she; “but I think Ariel in every way
superior to Puck: even his tricks are more elegant and graceful, and he
seems to sympathise with the people he is teasing; but Puck, however
amusing, is a wild mad-cap, that revels in his antics, and ridicules the
poor victims of his merry mischief. I like to think of Ariel as he ‘lies
in the cowslip’s bell’--or ‘rides on the curled clouds, to do his
master’s bidding,’ with such swiftness as to ‘drink the air before
him.’”
My uncle praised the drawing of Caliban’s character. “Every time
I read it,” said he, “I see fresh proofs of its complete
originality.--Shakspeare could have had no model for such a creature--it
could only be the work of his own extraordinary imagination, and it
shews what powers of invention he possessed. Caliban is just what the
offspring of a witch and a demon should be: he is a prodigy of cruelty
and malice; and Shakspeare heightens the effect by giving him a language
so poetical and yet so gross, that all he says, whether in brutal
malice, or in uncouth kindness, is in perfect keeping with his general
character. It expresses the instinctive barbarity of the monster; and
the mind is throughout divided between the detestation excited by such a
horrible being, and astonishment at the versatile genius by which it was
conceived.”
“Miranda is my favourite,” said my aunt; “I am sure there is as little
common-place in it as in either of the singular characters you have been
praising; in hers, innocence and gentleness are the predominant
features; while the union of the softest tenderness for Ferdinand with
her candour and dutiful deference to her mysterious father, give it the
most amiable finish; and I think the skill of Shakspeare in painting it
is at least equal to that shewn in any other of the play; for the many
beautiful little touches by which it is brought out, appear to me to
shew more talent than when violence of passion and great strength of
expression are used.”
“On the bat’s back I do fly
After summer merrily.”
I repeated these lines in Ariel’s song, and asked the meaning of “after
summer.” “Some critics,” said my uncle, “have thought it should be
_after sunset_, because Ariel speaks of riding on the _bat_; but
commentators delight in deep and hidden meanings, and it has therefore
been suggested, that as the fairy tribe dislike winter, Ariel, who is
now to be restored to liberty, rejoices that he may follow summer round
the globe; and therefore he is said to _fly after summer_.”
_17th._--We have been reading the life of that delightful musician,
Mozart; and he is claimed by each party. But I think he can give very
little support to Mary; for though his father was a teacher of music,
and early began to instruct him, his rapid progress and juvenile success
seem to have gone far beyond the effect of circumstances, which in a
hundred cases have been the same with other musical teachers, and other
children. Mozart was but four years old when his great delight was
seeking for _thirds_ on the piano-forte. When five, he learned difficult
pieces of music from his father so quickly, that he could immediately
repeat them; and in the following year he invented little sonatas,
which he played for his father, who always wrote them down to encourage
him.--Music was introduced into all his sports, none of which were
acceptable to him without it; and if sometimes a fondness for the usual
occupations of childhood did influence his mind, yet music soon became
again the favourite object.
Before he was six years of age, his father, observing him writing
busily, asked what he was doing: the little boy said, he was composing a
concerto for the harpsichord. The father took the paper, and laughed
heartily at the blots and scribbles; but when he examined it with more
attention, he shewed it to a friend with tears of delight, saying,
“Look, my friend, every thing is composed according to the rules; it is
a pity that the piece cannot be made use of, but it is too difficult,
nobody would be able to play it.”
The progress of this wonderful child was equal to this beginning, and in
various public exhibitions in Germany, and particularly at Vienna, he
excited, at a very early age, the astonishment of all musical people by
his science, by the correctness of his ear, and by his powerful
execution.--At the age of thirteen, he composed his first opera; and you
well know, Mamma, the numerous beautiful compositions which
distinguished his short life; for he died at the age of thirty-six.
Surely this was a genius!
_18th, Sunday._--My uncle read to us this morning the chapters which
relate the humbling of Pharaoh, and the going forth of the Israelites;
he afterwards said, “In the wonderful judgments inflicted on the
Egyptians, and in the miraculous institution of the Passover, when the
destroying angel passed over the house of every Israelite, we see, my
dear children, the operation of that Being whose will controuls the
elements of nature, and directs the passions of mankind.
“No human force is exercised--no Israelite lifts the sword; yet the
Egyptian monarch is humbled, his people are terrified, and both urge the
departure of the Israelites; who even demand and obtain from their late
oppressors silver and gold, as payment for their past labours. ‘Rise up
and get you forth,’ said Pharaoh, and they immediately commenced their
march before his hardened mind again repented of yielding to the decrees
of the Almighty.”
Wentworth asked his father how the Israelites could carry their kneading
troughs on their shoulders.
“It appears,” said my uncle, “from the accounts of various travellers,
that to this day the Arabs, who dwell in the countries through which the
Israelites passed, are in the habit of eating unleavened cakes; and that
the vessels still used there for kneading them, are small wooden bowls;
these you see could be very conveniently bound up in the kneading
cloths, and tied on their shoulders. The Arabs have also, among their
travelling furniture, a round thick piece of leather, which they lay on
the ground, and which serves them to eat upon; round it there is a row
of rings, by which it is drawn together with a chain: and it hangs by a
hook at the end of the chain to the side of the camel, in travelling. In
this leather, they carry their meal made into dough; and when the repast
is over, they wrap up in it all the fragments that remain.”
“I wonder,” said Frederick, who was looking at the map, “I wonder,
heavily laden as they must have been, that they did not take the
shortest road to the promised land, instead of going round about by the
Red Sea.”
“The regular route to the promised land,” my uncle replied, “was
certainly along the coast of the Mediterranean, towards Gaza and the
other cities of Palestine, which were a portion of Canaan, and at no
great distance from the Lower Egypt. But the way by which it was the
divine will to lead them, was through the Red Sea; as being not only
impracticable for their return, but being eminently calculated to
impress them with a sense of the miraculous power which guided and
protected them through the ‘deep.’”
I asked my uncle then what was meant by the word wilderness. He said,
“The word occurs in a great many places, both in the Old and New
Testament, where it sometimes means a wild, uninhabited desert, and
sometimes only an uncultivated plain: the wilderness through which the
Israelites were conducted, partook of both these descriptions, being
partly rocky, and partly a sandy, unproductive district. It occupied the
space between the two branches of the Arabian Gulf, which was sometimes
called in Hebrew, and is indeed at this day in the Coptic language, the
‘Sea of Weeds.’”
“Why, then, do we give it the name of the Red Sea?”
“We have borrowed the term from the Greeks,” said my uncle: “from whence
they derived it is not so easily answered; certainly not from the colour
of the water, or of the sand at the bottom. The most probable notion is,
that it was originally called the sea of _Edom_, as it washed the coast
of that country; and that, as Edom signifies _red_ in Hebrew, the
Greeks, not understanding the geographical allusion, simply translated
it, just as the Romans and ourselves have done after them.”
A general conversation then ensued, about the passage of the Israelites
through the sea; and I shall write here some of what I picked up, by way
of exercise only, for I am sure, Mamma, that you are already well
acquainted with all that is known on the subject.