With respect to what is called ‘preparing an instrument for the climate,’ much may certainly be done, by taking care that only the best seasoned wood is employed, and by clamping the case with metal, both within and without; but all this has little connection with the belly, or sounding-board; which cannot be much strengthened without considerably deteriorating the tone, and causing a piano to be in the first instance condemned, for want of that richness which cannot be given to one whose vibrations are obstructed. The only chance is, to keep a piano well covered with blankets during the heats, as also in very damp weather, and to uncloathe it gradually, when about to be opened for performance. By such precautions, the instrument may remain tolerably in tune, and not sustain much injury from the variations of seasons: after two or three years the danger may be less; but it will be prudent never to relax in point of prevention, lest the instrument should suddenly fail.
With the exception of such little parties as, in a few families, assemble during the afternoons to enjoy the pleasures arising from the musicaltalents of some lady, Calcutta has little to offer in this captivating branch of amusement. If we cast out of the account some accidental quartetto parties, or the solitary warblings of some flute-player, &c., the whole may be deemed a blank. Now and then a subscription concert, for the benefit of some professor, who lives more by means of eleemosynary bounty, than by the encouragement of his abilities, calls the town together, not to listen to the notes, to the fine melodies, and rich harmonies of Haydn, &c., but to see, and to be seen, and to talk, and be talked to. In brief, India is not the soil to which a man of science, or of taste, should repair, under the hope of being liberally repaid for his trouble and expences; much less of being cherished for his genius and acquirements. One or two insulated exceptions are not to be adduced in refutation of my assertion: I am ready to acknowledge, that, now and then, a professor has been seen pampering under all the influence of high and boundless patronage; but theper contrashews a numerous list of those who have lingered through all the penalties attendant upon humble merit, until the grave has kindly terminated their ill-fated labors.
Assemblies, balls, routs, &c., or under whatever name dissipation, vanity, and luxury, may arrange their concordance, are not very numerousin India. The Governor-General, and the Members of Council, occasionally circulate their invitations during the cold months; and, at times, some spacious public rooms are engaged for the same purpose on speculation; but I never understood that it proved lucrative.
It was not until about twenty years back that the British had any regular church in Bengal, and now they have but one, which was built partly by private aid, and partly by the profits arising—from a lottery!!! The latter was, I understand, very forcibly opposed by one or two gentlemen, who considered it as a very unbecoming mode of raising supplies for so holy a purpose. When we reflect that a Portugueze merchant built one, for the use of the Catholics, from his own purse; and that, though he was accounted a rich man, yet his property could not be compared with what various individuals, of our own nation, resident in India, can boast; it may be fairly quoted, as a singular instance of parsimony against our countrymen. Not that impiety or disrespect to public worship can be urged against the settlement; for no church can be better attended than that in question: the liberality of the inhabitants was partially exemplified by the institution of a free-school, where a number of children, both of Europeans, and of native mothers, are educated in a very sufficientmanner; a circumstance of considerable moment where education is so dear.
This dearness should seem unreasonable, if we only take into account the prices of provisions, which are very low; but we must carry in mind the enormous rates of house-rent; and that, whatever may be the profession in which persons proceeding to India engage, the return to Europe with a comfortable independence is the main consideration. Supposing ten thousand pounds to be gained in twenty years, by attention to his pupils, it cannot be denied, that a pedagogue is barely rewarded for so great a duration of slavery in such a climate, and at such a distance from all his friends and connections. Whatever may be the merits of the teachers, nothing could reconcile me to bringing up a child in India. All so educated, are rendered unfit for the society of gentlemen who have been brought up in Europe; they know nothing of the world, but, while imitating the manners and customs of those they term their countrymen, exercise all that craft which so peculiarly characterizes the native youths. In a moral point of view, the detention of a child, particularly a female, in India, is highly culpable; and when treated of as a matter of economy, will, in the end, be found equally objectionable. That the disadvantage under which parentslabor, in sending their children to Europe, is considerable, must be fully admitted; and, it must also be acknowledged, that many may be able to spare a certain monthly, or annual, sum towards education, which could not be furnished at once. Such parents are to be pitied; because they can rarely have a child creditably schooled at Calcutta for less than fifty rupees (£75.) per mensem, all charges included; whereas, for about half that sum, say for £40., a much better education could be given at excellent schools in various parts of Britain. If we suppose £150. to be expended in transmitting a child to Europe, and that the sum of £35. be annually saved after arrival here, the difference, both principal and interest, would be cleared off in about five years; while many important advantages would be gained, and a thousand very obnoxious habits avoided. The encrease of population has been followed by an augmentation in the number of schools; but, if I judge correctly, the latter has been rather beyond what the former should appear to authorize. The first school that was set up in the vicinity of Calcutta, started about the year 1780, under the charge of a Mrs. Hodges, who succeeded beyond the expectations of her most sanguine patrons; and, in the course of about twenty years, realized a very handsome fortune, with great creditto herself; and, if marrying off at an early age be desirable, with great advantage to numerous young ladies; who, in succession, entrapped the hearts of sundry gay Lotharios, by whom her dancing-room was much frequented. It would be cruel, and unjust, in the extreme, to assert that young women brought up at such a seminary, were, in every respect, inferior: it must be admitted, that they may dance, play the piano, work at their needle, read, write, and cast accounts, and perhaps speak French: all these may be done to admiration; but, alas! these are, properly speaking, merely mechanical, and, though they may please for awhile, never can give that zest depending solely on the enlargement of the mind, and on some knowledge of the world. So true is this, that not one in fifty of the girls thus brought up can hold conversation in any way pleasing or interesting; and, which is worse, the other forty-nine are very apt to be childish, vain, imperious, crafty, vulgar, and—wanton! But they are, generally, well formed, pretty, active, gay, and insinuating; therefore we must not wonder at the matches we see take place, nor at the poverty they generally entail upon their husbands, by a certain prolific propensity which may be said to characterize the whole breed.
The several schools in and about Calcutta,may be considered on nearly the same footing as in Europe; some dear, others more reasonable; some good, others highly exceptionable. Most of them are well situated, so far as relates to convenience and salubrity; but it appears to me, that more than one of the seminaries for young ladies are subject to overlook objects by no means suited to female delicacy, and, in a great measure, derogatory to the judgment of those who selected such sites for their establishments. Those academies which are about two or three miles out of town, are certainly preferable in the above respect; while, at the same time, they are not beyond the common distance to which bearers are in the habit of conveying their employers on visits during the forenoon.
In a former part, I cursorily made mention of the old fort, in which stood the Black-Hole, so famous in history. This fortress is now converted into public-offices and warehouses, for both which purposes it is admirably adapted, from the centrical situation it occupies, and from the great solidity of the walls, &c. The defences are extremely simple, and might answer well enough for the times in which they were constructed, as well as for the prowess of the troops by which they were likely to be attacked: being on the bank of the river Hoogly, a retreat by water might easily be effected under the coverof shipping; and, by the same means, supplies could generally be afforded. According to the present system of warfare, and the probability of being attacked by an European army, it would be unsafe to place the smallest reliance on the old fort, further than as an immediate asylum in the event of insurrection; in which case, many houses that now command the works must be destroyed: this, owing to the want of cannon on the ramparts, would not be an easy operation. The town is protected chiefly by Fort-William, a more modern work, capable of containing at least fifteen thousand men; the defences, indeed, require near ten thousand to man them properly. The garrison ordinarily consists of two or three regiments of Europeans, a battalion of artillery, with a very large establishment of artificers, &c., attached to the arsenal, where stores of every description are lodged in bomb-proofs. Provisions, equal to six months’ consumption, are always kept in the fort. The native corps, intended to aid in the defence, and of which the amount may be from four to five thousand, are cantoned at Barrackpore, a station about sixteen miles from Calcutta, on the banks of the river, and exactly facing the Danish town of Serampore. Of these troops, about twelve hundred constantly do duty in the fort; being relieved monthly in regular rotation. Fort-Williamis the grand depôt of Bengal, and may be considered as the key to that part of the Company’s possessions, if not to the whole; for it does not appear probable that any effectual resistance could be made, if that fortress were to fall into the hands of the enemy. Such a loss would infallibly destroy the opinion now held of our prowess, and precipitate us from the pinnacle of power, into an awful abyss of ruin!
As Mr. Hastings very properly stated, ‘our power in the East depends entirelyon opinion.’ When we consider the immense population over which we hold control, with comparatively an insignificant force, and, that that force is composed chiefly of natives, it must immediately occur to us how necessary it is to satisfy our Asiatic subjects that our sway is mild, and that, in submitting to us, they rescue themselves from tyranny and extortion.
There may arise local circumstances wherein the possession of a strong hold would be invaluable; and rescue us from the most imminent dangers. Of this, our affair with Cheyt Sing is a most obvious and undeniable proof: had not the fortress of Chimar, a place rather of reputed, than of real, strength, been at hand, our force in that part must have been annihilated; when the insurrection would infallibly have spread in every direction.
Without entering into particulars, I shall give a brief statement of the Company’s forces at their several presidencies; observing, that the number of their European regiments has been considerably diminished, amounting, nearly, to a total reduction, for the purpose of making way for the introduction of king’s troops. With respect to the European strength, therefore, it must be understood that no fixed establishment exists: but the average amount of that branch, independent of the Company’s battalions of artillery and infantry, may be taken at about sixteen or eighteen thousand firelocks, including the cavalry.
At each presidency, the native regiments are formed into two battalions, with the same strength of European commissioned officers as are allotted to one regiment of Europeans. A colonel commands each regiment, and every battalion has attached to it one lieutenant-colonel, and one major, together with a proportion of thecaptains and subaltern officers. Two serjeants are allowed to each battalion, viz. one acting as serjeant-major, the other under the quartermaster. The companies are commanded by European officers, under whom, onesoubadar, onejemmadar, fivehavildars, fivenaicks, and ninety privates, (sepoys,) are enrolled. Thesoubadarsandjemmadarshave commissions, and are competent to sit on regimental, or line, courts-martial for the trial of natives, whether in the military service, or camp followers. Thehavildarscorrespond in rank and duties with our serjeants, and thenaicks, with our corporals. Each battalion has two grenadier, and eight battalion companies: no recruit is taken whose age exceeds twenty-five, or whose stature does not reach to five feet six inches and a half, or, more generally, to five feet seven inches; unless on emergency, or when obvious juvenility warrants the acceptance of an under-sized candidate; who, generally, being well fed, and taught to stand erect, in the course of drilling over-tops the standard of admission.
Reference to the table of pay and allowances in the Directory, will prove useful to those who may proceed to India, and may serve to guide those who are not acquainted with the particulars of income in that quarter. The usual exchange is two shillings and sixpence persiccarupee, about five per cent. better than thesonautrupee, which is the standard of military payments. In viewing the sum-total of an officer’s pay, when reduced to English currency, which may be done with tolerable correctness at the above rate of eight rupees to the pound sterling, very considerable allowance must be made for the inevitable expences, &c., incident, not only to military men, but to all residing in India. This consideration will amount to a very plain, and correct, conclusion, viz. that though a subaltern officer may live on his pay, provided his out-set be duly allowed for, yet, that he must have more than ordinary luck, or possess a bent towards parsimony by no means to be envied, and rarely attaining its object, to enable his saving a few pounds within the year.
This is necessary to be well understood, and, when understood, ought to be ever carried in mind by those who expect a young man on his arrival, as a cadet, in India, to support himself without adventitious aids. That he may do so, by arranging a proper plan with others of his class, cannot be denied; but to effect this, not only all luxuries, but, what in India are considered the necessaries of life, must be relinquished. On receiving a commission, his allowances, of course, are considerably augmented, but, on the other hand, his expences will be rathergreater; and this unavoidably, and exclusive of his equipment to join his corps.
Therefore, let no unreasonable expectations be entertained, merely from observing the gross sum of annual receipts; let not the parent, who can spare a moderate sum towards his son’s comfort, deny it for the few first years after the latter may arrive in India. The best mode of effecting this, in a proper manner, is through some respectable agency-house, which should have the power to afford seasonable aids, under the injunction not to encourage, nor to tolerate, extravagance. Those sanguine ideas too often entertained by persons not in affluent circumstances, that their sons, brothers, &c., should remit to them, yearly, a portion of their pay, ought to be peremptorily suppressed; the illusion should be done away; otherwise, inconvenience at least, if not ruin, may be entailed!
To shew how folks, on this side the water, sometimes err, I shall relate an anecdote which may prove serviceable to many; the circumstance happened, within my own knowledge, to a brother subaltern with whom I was very intimate. He had, from the day of his admission to the service, formed the resolution of amassing a certain sum, which should be devoted to the comfort of three sisters he had left in Scotland, and who, he knew, would not,in the meanwhile, be destitute of support. At the end of about his tenth year of service, his favorite object was effected, and he remitted to them no less than twelve hundred pounds,i.e.four hundreds to each, with a letter, expressing his satisfaction at being enabled to provide them the means of improving their diet, &c.; closing his brotherly epistle with the assurance, that, in so doing, he had surrendered his all; and that, as it was his intention thenceforward to lay by every spare rupee for the purpose of retiring from the service, they were to expect no further aid until his demise. The good souls were astonished at the receipt of so handsome a present, which they never had expected; they put their heads together, and, after many a pleasingconfab., in which expectation, rather than gratitude, doubtless was expressed, made up their minds to the full conviction that their brother was as rich as a Jew, and that there was no occasion for economy in future. They made their good fortune known, both by words, and by the encrease of their establishment, &c., &c.; and, for a year or more, made a very gay appearance on the strength of their brother’s money; but, as that was rather ‘of a perishable nature,’ and because, as poor Richard says, ‘going often to the meal-tub, but never putting in, will soon find thebottom,’ bills, and demands of various kinds, began to accumulate, and the ladies were reduced to considerable distress. In this awkward predicament, application was made to the agent through whom the payment had been paid in London; but he knew nothing whatever of their brother’s concerns, nor could he venture to make them any advance upon the bills of exchange they proposed to give him. Reduced to the last extremity by their own imprudence, they wrote him a most extraordinary letter, which was submitted to my perusal, wherein, among other matters, they reproached him as having occasioned their distress ‘by not having been punctual in theANNUAL REMITTANCEhe had led them to expect!’ The foregoingfact, I am thoroughly satisfied could be matched, if many family occurrences, of which the public do not hear, were exposed to view. The number of questions I have been obliged to answer, and the evident disappointments that have resulted from my candid exposition of the subjects in question, leave not a doubt in my mind, that the most preposterous expectations are often (as in the above instance) formed upon very slight grounds, or even without the smallest foundation.
According to the regulations, every man in the service ought to be paid monthly; but thisis not always done, even in times of peace, on account of the collections,i.e.the revenues, being received only at particular periods: if nothing particular should occur to occasion the monies being otherwise appropriated, the deputy pay-masters at the several stations receive notice, that the amount of pay, due to the troops attached thereto, may be received; otherwise, it sometimes happens that two, three, or more months, elapse without any such notice being given. It is inconceivable to what inconvenience such delays give birth! No regimental pay-master, no regimental agent, no certain means of obtaining a supply of cash, in general, exist. Consequently, recourse must be had to the native money-lenders, of whom I have already made honorable mention. When a notice arrives at the deputy pay-master’s office, application is made by him for an escort, generally of a company of sepoys, under the command of an European officer, which proceeds to that civil station whence the supplies are to be derived. Sometimes, however, the escort is detained for many days, or even for weeks; this is usually owing to sudden calls for remittances having been received, when, of course, the escort had better wait for fresh receipts than return empty handed.
Payments are made in specie, generally insilver; thesiccarupees of Lucknow, Benares, Patna, &c., being held assonauts, in which the pay of the whole army is calculated. When much gold is received at a station, but especially at the Presidency, that coin is instantly depreciated, to the great loss of every military man. In some instances, payments are made to troops by means of bills of exchange, payable at short dates: this answers very well for small sums, in situations not authorizing the detachment of a party to escort from a considerable distance, provided the party on whom the bill is given be a responsible man, which is very generally the case; for, though we do sometimes hear of ashroff(i.e.native banker) stopping payment, very little apprehension need be entertained as to the punctuality of those on whom respectable firms draw, as they usually do, at fifty-one days.
This is done with the view to induce the party who is to receive the money, to discount with him who is to pay it; thus deriving to the drawer of the bill a double profit. It happens sometimes, as I once experienced, that some little pretended informality is not discovered until the bill becomes due, when it is generally returned to be rectified: by this device, an additional profit is exacted. I do not apply these cases to all theshroffs, but notice them as beingoccasionally within the sphere of an European’s disappointments, and to caution against a too hasty acceptance of bills from anyshroffnot established in character, as well as in property.
With respect to the recovery of sums advanced on bills of exchange, extreme difficulty very generally prevails. The bankrupt laws of Britain do not extend to her colonies, and, if they did, it could be to the several presidencies only; beyond their immediate sites, the several courts of judicature have no immediate authority over any but British subjects. About thirty years back, the Supreme Court at Calcutta made an attempt to extend its powers into the interior, and to take cognizance of civil matters between the native inhabitants, but they were personally opposed, and such serious consequences were apprehended, that the enterprize was relinquished, and the judges compelled to confine their operations to the letter of that act by which they had been sent to India.
Until within the last ten years, the troops in the upper provinces received an addition to their pay, under the name of ‘double-full-batta,’ originally given by the Nabob Vizier of Oude to the officers serving within his dominions, and by the Company to all who served beyond their own immediate possessions: this has, however,been abrogated, and full-batta is now the highest pay given on any occasion. When the above allowance,i.e.double-full-batta, was in force, the upper provinces were considered preferable in point of emolument; but, on account of the great prices of liquors, and of all articles, excepting immediate table provision, in demand among European gentlemen, very little advantage was gained from the receipt of greater pay; except by those who proceeded upon a plan of determined economy, and retired from the great circle of society for the express purpose of living within certain bounds, whatever privations they might endure. Such persons necessarily acquired property in proportion to their receipts; an object of great importance where the legal interest is twelve per cent., and where abundance of government securities at ten per cent. have been generally for sale at par, or nearly so, in the money market. Under such favorable circumstances, the first saving was invaluable; it was sure to accumulate, and commonly was doubled in about seven years. Since the abolition of ‘double-full-batta,’ the Presidency is considered the best station, so many opportunities offering of making cheap purchases at the several daily auctions in Calcutta, only sixteen miles from the cantonments at Barrackpore. In a gig, the distance may be easilyran in two hours, the road being remarkably good; in apalanquin, the journey may occupy about four hours, if a relay of bearers be posted at the half-waybungalow. During the rains, and especially when the tide serves, a well-mannedpulwar, or apaunchway, ordingy, (small boats calculated for expedition,) may proceed from Barrackpore to Calcutta in little more than an hour; the return is rarely very quick, except during spring-tides in the dry-season, before the river rises. Care must be taken to start with the first of the tide, but not before thebaun, orbore, has past.
Those who have seen theborein the Medway, and in the Severn, will at once comprehend the dangers attendant upon that impetuous rush of the waters, which, in the Hoogly, begins near Fultah, about forty miles below Calcutta, and may be felt even so high as Nia-serai, full thirty-five miles above the capital. In a work entitled ‘The Oriental Voyager,’ by J. Johnson, Esq., Surgeon in the Royal Navy, at page 80, is the following passage. Speaking of the Ganges, he says, ‘The tides in this river, particularly at full and change, are rapid beyond belief, forming what are calledboars, orbores, when the stream seems tumbling down a steep descent, doing great mischief among the boats, by upsetting and running them over each other: ships themselves arefrequently dragged from their anchors, and dashed furiously against each other, at these periods. They attempt to account for these torrents, by saying they depend on the other small rivers, that open into the main one by bars; which, at a certain time of the tide, allow the waters to rush out, all at once, into the great stream, and thereby so much encrease its velocity!’
Where Mr. Johnson got his information about these bars, I know not; nor would it be possible, in my humble opinion, for any man to have disguised, or confused, the fact more completely than is done in the above paragraph: a circumstance which creates surprize, when we consider, that the volume in question contains many remarks, inducing us to expect the absence of so unphilosophical a description, and so erroneous a conception. The matter lies in a nutshell, as Mr. Johnson ought to have known: viz. Those rivers whose mouths are much expanded, and that, after a course of several miles, during which their banks are nearly parallel, suddenly contract, are subject tobores; that is, to an immense wave which heads the flood tide. Thisbore, which is described with justice as being very powerful, arises from the contraction of the channel; which, while it directs the great volume of water into a narrowed space, necessarily compels it to assume a greater height.The successive flow drives on the leading wave, which gradually subsides as it becomes more distant from the propelling power. But theborerarely, if ever, occupies the whole breadth of the stream; it ordinarily runs upon one side, until it comes to a bend, when it crosses over, and continues its action until another turn of the river causes it to cross again; and thus until its force is expended. Theboredoes not run under Calcutta, but along the opposite bank; it crosses at Chitpore, about four miles above the fort, and ranges with great violence past Barnagore, Duckensore, &c. Lesser rivers, whose mouths lie embayed; as is the case with the Medway, which branches from the Thames, and the Wye, that falls into the Severn, are subject tobores, in consequence of the tide taking such a course as throws the great body of water into them. In such small streams, theborewill generally be tremendous; because so great an expanse is suddenly thrown into so narrow a channel: hence, the bridge at Chepstow is necessarily raised to so great a height, and by floating made to yield to the tide’s force.
I much fear Mr. Johnson was not very successful in his enquiries, nor over fastidious in his acceptance of vulgar errors; for, I observe, that at page 113, he has allowed himself to be egregiously duped regardingMannacolly Point;so called, from the village ofMannacolly, which formerly stood there. Mr. Johnson tells us a long story about a lady proceeding to India, and finding her husband a corpse at that place: whence, ‘Melancholy Point.’!!! I am well aware, that the same fable has been retailed to many others, who gaped for information; but that is no apology for its being upheld as matter of fact: had any respectable authority been consulted on the occasion, before the volume was committed to press, so palpable a traditional error would not have been offered to that public, among whom so many are equal to its refutation.
What Mr. Johnson states respecting the injuries done to ships by thebore, is at times verified, but they are rarely worthy of notice: if a vessel be properly secured, theborewill have little effect on her safety, though the swell may cause her to pitch rather deep for a while. During the rainy season there is nobore; which is to be accounted for by the tide being so weakened at its entrance into the narrows near Fultah, as not to be competent to form such a wave as precedes it at other seasons; but, in exchange for this, a violent eddy, and great agitation of the waters, takes place between Diamond-Harbour and that place. It has been several times my lot, when proceeding with the last of the tide fromBarrackpore to Calcutta, to meet thebore, generally near Chitpore; but, as its approach was indicated by the putting off of all the small craft from that shore, along which it invariably pursued its course, and to remain near which would be dangerous, my boat-men always followed the example, and kept along the centre; where, though we were tossed about famously, no danger existed. Once, indeed, in turning Sulky Point, in a sailing boat, I was obliged to dash through thebore, which I did not suppose to be so near, notwithstanding thedingies, &c., were putting out. The surf assuredly appeared awful, but we mounted over it, stem on, without difficulty, and speedily recovered from a certain pallid complexion which had insensibly crept over our countenances, as we approached the roaring waters. From what has been said, it must be evident that theboretravels at the same rate as the incipient spring-tide, the velocity of which is different in various parts, but may be taken at an average of full twenty miles within the hour. Notwithstanding this rapidity, vessels, such asbudjrows, and other craft, intended for pleasure, or for burthen, ordinarily ride safe at anchor; sustaining no injury from thebore, though they may perhaps drag their anchors a few yards. But, to insure this security, care must be taken that the broadside should notbe exposed; else there will be great danger of over-setting: this danger is not unfrequent, owing to themanjiesanddandies(boatmen) neglecting, especially during the night, to swing the stern round, either by means of a spring, or a small hawser, or byluggies(bamboo-poles); so that the vessel’s head may meet theborein its direct course.
Those who are anxious to make the best of their way, should not delay putting off until the tide may have fairly set in, but ought to be out in the stream just as theboreis ranging along the bank, so that they may receive the first impulse, which is prodigiously forcible, and endeavor, by the exertions of their boatmen, to keep up, as much as may be practicable, with the leading waters. It is wonderful how great a difference this sometimes makes in the start from Calcutta! Sometimes abudjrowmay, by this precaution, reach beyond Bandel, and nearly to the ultimatum of the tide’s way, after which, the current is invariably in opposition, at various rates, according to the season of the year. During the dry season, which includes from the end of October to the middle of June, though sometimes the rains are of greater duration, or set in earlier, the Hoogly river is nearly in a state of rest above Nia-serai; but, during the rains, and especially about August and September, notonly the beds of the rivers, but the country around, present a formidable body of water. Within the banks, the current may average from four to eight miles an hour, according to localities, but what is called ‘the inundation,’ rarely exceeds half a mile; and, I believe, never moves at a full mile within that time.
In this, due allowance must be made whether the waters are rising, or falling: in the former instance, they will become nearly stationary until they may overflow where nearest the sea, and thus obtain a vent; in the latter case, such parts as may be near to great rivers, then subsiding within their banks, must be greatly accelerated.
As the parched soil of Egypt is refreshed by the overflowing of the Nile, so do the waters of the Ganges, by their annual expansion and abundance, renew the fertility of many millions of acres, and restore the blessings of health to those industrious and peaceable peasantry inhabiting that flat country through which they majestically wind their course.
At Calcutta, and Dacca, each of which is about seventy miles from the sea, not only is the water unpalatable, from its saline impregnation, but even the sand, taken from the beds of the rivers, is found to retain so much moisture, notwithstanding the heat of the climate, as to disqualify it from mixture in the cements used forbuilding, but especially for making tarrases, known to us here under the designation of grist floors.
The great tank at Calcutta, which occupies a space of about ten acres, is not less than two hundred yards from the river. The soil is generally a rich sandy loam near the surface, but becomes rather looser, and inclinable to a fine gravel, after digging about ten feet. The tank may be sixty feet from the top of its banks, (which are level with the streets,) to its bottom; and the river is from four to seven fathoms deep opposite its site. We should conclude that such a distance would secure the waters of the tank from becoming brackish; but the soil favors the communication with the river, and, during the hot season, occasions the tank to be so strongly impregnated as to be unfit for either culinary purposes, or for washing. What is more remarkable, the wells in the different out-works of Fort-William, some of which are four or five hundred yards from the river, partake equally of the moisture: so much, indeed, as to have caused Government to be at a great expence in forming an immense reservoir, (to be filled, if required, by rain water,) occupying the whole of one of the bastions.
It should be here noticed, that, during the rainy season, the rivers are full up to their banks,and run with such force, often six or eight miles in the hour, as to occasion the tide to be little felt, either at Calcutta, or at Dacca; consequently, the whole of the water, both of the rivers, and of the tanks and wells, becomes fresh and pure. On the other hand, during the hot months, viz. March, April, May, and part of June, when, except during a north-wester, or squall incident to the season, not a drop of rain is to be expected, the waters are every where proportionably low; and, as the tides come up with extreme force, we must conclude the portion of sea-water to be very considerable. Such is the fact; for those who visit either Calcutta, or Dacca, at that season, and who drink even of the tank-water, are sure to feel its cathartic effects, and, eventually, to suffer under a very troublesome kind of itch. At Dacca, where the air is more saline, all visitors undergo the penance of a copious eruption: some of the old residents have a return of it every hot season; although they may be extremely careful never to touch river water, but, like the inhabitants of Calcutta, allot a spaciousgodownto the reception of immense jars of earthen ware, which, being placed side by side, in close rows, are successively filled by theaub-dar, or servant whose business is confined to the care, and to the cooling, of water for table expenditure. The water thus preserved iscaught in large vessels, placed under the several spouts that conduct it thereto, during heavy falls of rain; the quantity varies according to the consumption, but we may ordinarily compute that of a family at Calcutta to amount to full sixty or seventy hogsheads within the year. In the course of a few weeks, each vessel will be found to contain innumerable larvæ, occasioned by musquitoes, and other insects, and which would, in a certain time, taint the fluid. It is therefore customary to strain the whole so soon as the larvæ are discovered, and afterwards to plunge into each jar an immense mass of iron, made red-hot; whereby whatever animalculæ may have escaped through the strainer may be destroyed. This being done, some alum is dissolved in water, and a sufficient quantity put into each vessel to fine its contents. Some, and I think the practice should be more generally adopted, after the foregoing operations, sprinkle a quantity of very fine sand on the surface of the water in each jar; thereby giving, to whatever gross particles it may contain, a tendency to precipitation. It may, at first view, appear that, in the common course of society, gentlemen must be subject to partake of water which may not have been so scrupulously purified, and perhaps brought from some neighbouring tank, or from a river, impregnated by the influx of a brackishtide. Such may, assuredly, be the case occasionally; but it will be found, on reference to what has been said of the duties of theaub-dar, or water-servant, that purified water is carried by a bearer, in abangy, or perhaps in asoorye, or earthen jug, to the house at which his master is to dine. In camp, it is a very general custom for every guest’s servant to supply his master with water of his own purifying; which is effected either by means of alum, or of some other astringent producing a similar effect.
The waters in the great rivers have various sources; but, speaking generally of the Ganges, which receives almost all the other rivers in its course from those mountains among which it has its source, to the Bay of Chittagong, where it empties itself into the sea in an immense expanse, we may divide its properties according to the countries through which it passes. Hence the various opinions that have been entertained of its qualities; which have been generally mentioned in a very loose, indiscriminate manner, without reference to the various soils whereby its purity must be affected, in a country where, as in Egypt, annual inundations prevail; or where, at least, such immense quantities of rain fall as would astonish a person not habituated to the most impetuous showers.
The Ganges takes its rise at the back of theKammow Hills, beyond Hurdwar, where it issues forth as a narrow, but rapid stream, from among broken rocks, and soon spreads to some extent in the fertile plains of the Rohilcund district, which it divides from the province of Delhi. The natives of India rarely venture beyond Hurdwar. They have, however, an opinion that the trueGanga, as they term the Ganges, originates at that spot; and, considering the cow as the greatest blessing given to mankind, (for the Hindus venerate it with even more fervor than a Catholic does a supposed relic of our Saviour,) emphatically term it ‘the Cow’s Mouth;’ implying thereby the purity, as well as the value, of the waters.
But those mountains which give birth to the Ganges, are likewise the sources of the Barampooter; a river exceeding even the Ganges in capacity! These two immense streams deviate at their origin to opposite quarters; the Ganges proceeding westward, and the Barampooter eastward. The former, after winding at the back of the Kammow and Nagrocote Mountains, passes Hurdwar, and, proceeding in a devious track through the plains of Oude, Allahabad, Benares, Bahar, Jungleterry, Mauldah, Comercally, Dacca, and other subordinate districts, receives the Luckyah, as a branch from the Barampooter, and a few miles below Daccaunites with that river; whence, under the designation of ‘theMegna,’ they pursue their course for about sixty miles to the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal, forming by their junction a volume of water, encreasing, from about seven, to twenty miles in width.
In the upper country, the Ganges receives various inferior streams, such as the Doojoorah, the Cally-Nuddy, the Goombeerah, the Gunduck, the Mahanuddy, the Rooee, the Jumma, the Goomty, the Carimnassa, the Gogra, (or Dewah,) the Soane, the Coosah, and various other streams not vying in extent with the Ganges, but generally equal to the Thames at London. The Gogra, the Soane, and the Coosah, are, indeed, rivers of the second class; as wide as the Thames at Gravesend.
From Sooty, which is in the Jungleterry district, the Ganges throws off a considerable branch: this widening in a curious manner, under the name of the Baug-Retty, passes Moorshadabad, formerly the seat of the government of Bengal, under Sooraja Dowlah, Meer Jaffiers, and their ancestors; at length, after a course of about 150 miles, it meets at Nuddeah, with the Jellinghy, also detached from the Ganges, whence the two form a large river under the name of the Hoogly, which, flowing under Hoogly, Bandel, Chinsurah, Chandernagore,Serampore, Calcutta, and many inferior places, empties itself into the western end of the Bay of Bengal, having previously received the Roopnariam, and the Dummoodah.
In its course from Bagwangolah, which stands near to Sooty, the Ganges sends a great variety of small streams through the Jessore, and Mahomedpore districts, which, meeting with large inlets from the sea, form an immense labyrinth of deep waters, intersecting that wild country called the Sunderbunds, in such various mazes as to require a pilot for their navigation.
Having thus detailed the courses of the rivers, I shall account for their rise and fall; as thereon many physical points of the utmost importance will be found to depend: the various soils through which they pass will be described, and enable us to judge more correctly, of the causes of that variety of character attached to the waters in various parts.
The Thibet Mountains, which form the north-east boundary of a long valley, stretching from Napaul to Sirinaghur, are covered with snow all the year. Their height must be very great; for, on a clear day, they may be seen from the Golah at Patna, though distant little less than 300 miles. From the north-west part of this Alpine range, the Ganges and Barampooter derive their sources, as before described, back to backfrom the same mountains. To the dissolution of a part of the snow which cloaths their summits, we may, perhaps, safely attribute a slight encrease that takes place about the middle of May in those rivers: fluctuating, more or less, at intervals, until the periodical rains set in; generally about the middle of June. Some have ascribed their rise to heavy rains in the countries through which the streams pass; but such cannot be considered as the true cause, for various reasons. Firstly, those rains must be extremely heavy if they tended to swell the rivers; the ground being parched, and requiring great moisture to saturate it. Secondly, the encrease is not attendant with any turbid appearance; as would indisputably result from such heavy rains, as, after saturating the thirsty soil, could raise such large rivers, often a foot, or more. Thirdly, there are other rivers which derive their sources from the Kammow Hills, and from the Morungs, not so distant from the Thibet Hills but that they might be expected to receive their share of the rains, and to shew some encrease, which they do not; the rise being confined to the Ganges and Barampooter, whose sources lie among the snow-clad mountains. Fourthly, the encrease happens at the hottest time of the year, and the water loses the genial warmth imparted by the solar ray, becomes harder, and, in the upper country, near Annopshier, about sixtymiles below the Cow’s Mouth, is found, at that particular season, to cause acute bowel complaints, which is not the case at other seasons. Add to this, that, among the natives of the countries above Hurdwar, thegoiture, or wen in the throat, in some measure prevails: a strong symptom of the dissolution of snow.
The following may, generally, be considered the soils peculiar to the several provinces through which the Ganges has its course, after leaving Hurdwar. The west bank is generally high all the way to Benares, and consists, with little exception, of lime, concreted into irregular masses, much like roots of ginger, or Jerusalem artichokes, of various sizes, some weighing perhaps five or six pounds, others scarcely an ounce. These are of a ginger, or ash color; though some, being more mixed with the gravelly part of the soil, are of a yellowish red. This kind of concretion is known throughout India by the name ofkunkur, and, when burnt, yields a very inferior kind of cement, friable, and not very tenacious in regard to the body whereto it is applied, nor hardening so as to resist moisture effectually.
All the rivers, therefore, which issue from the western bank, are, more or less, impregnated with this kind of lime; while, on the opposite bank, the waters partake of a strong solution of nitre, with which most of the plains of Oude,Fyzabad, Gazypore, &c., abound. Such is the abundance, that the Company are induced to prohibit the salt-petre manufactured in the Nabob Vizier of Oude’s dominions, from being imported within their own provinces; otherwise, the cheapness of the former, which is usually sold at Furruckabad for about two shillings and sixpence per cwt., would destroy the manufactories at Patna, where it ordinarily sells for double that price.
The country lying between the Ganges and the Goomty, (on the eastern bank,) from Currah to Benares, is replete with alkali in a fossile state, known by the name ofsudjy. This is usually found on the surface, at the close of the rainy season especially, when it begins to shew itself very obviously, and is pared off with mattocks; rising in large cellular strata from one to three inches in thickness, and much resembling thin free-stone, though far more porous. In this state it is carried to market, where it is purchased by the manufacturers of soap at Allahabad, Patna, and other places; it is generally combined with oil, and, when ready, sells at about ten shillings the maund of 80lb. At Calcutta it is ordinarily sold at about 50 per cent. profit. It is made in baskets, is of a dark color, and very moist.
It is curious that the inhabitants of these countries have never turned their thoughts tothe effects produced by these substances. On the western bank the people are subject to nephritic complaints, which they generally express under the vague term ofkummer-ka-dook(or pains in the back); while, on the eastern bank, they are troubled with themoormoory, (or gripes,) with which those living inland, especially, are severely afflicted, owing to their use of tank-water.
During the rainy season, these powerful agents combine, and give birth to most alarming and excruciating maladies, which, however, readily yield to a few gentle cathartics, aided bycongee, (or rice-water,) by which the intestines are sheathed. The natives generally have recourse to opiates; whereby they often fix the disease. In the dry season, that is, from the end of October to the middle of June, the river water, having deposited the noxious particles, is remarkably clear and wholesome; except when the rise takes place, about the middle or end of May, as before related. The bed of the river being invariably a coarse sand, occasionally blended with immense sheets ofkunkur, whereof the banks are formed for miles in some parts, easily receives the lime and alkali, leaving the running waters clear, and free from those substances.
Europeans never drink of water fresh drawn in any situation; it being always left to standfor at least one day; during which, a copious deposit takes place: in the rainy season, perhaps full a fourth of the contents of the vessel. Some gentlemen are very particular in having their water boiled.
The low plains of the Shawabad and Buxar districts, situate on the western bank of the Ganges, are chiefly cultivated with rice, while the higher parts are productive of white corn, opium, sugar, &c. The swamps near Saseram, bordering the range of hills at the western boundary, and which come round to Chunar, are annually in a state of partial corruption, sufficient to occasion terribly malignant diseases, about November; when the sun’s power promotes an astonishing evaporation, filling the air with miasma, and spreading destruction among all the living tribes. But those waters are, in themselves, highly dangerous; both on account of the putrefaction of the vegetables they contain, and of the powerful coalition of various mineral streams, which, having in the rainy season exceeded their ordinary limits, stray into the low country, and mix with the already deleterious mass. Finding a discharge for their redundancy, by means of the multitude of fissures, or small channels, every where existing, these blend with the purer torrents, occasioned by the impetuous rains, and cause a fever toprevail, which, in addition to the lime and nitre already afloat, perform wonders in the cause of desolation.
This assemblage of rivulets forms that great river the Soane, which, for the short course it has to run, not being more than sixty miles from its numerous sources in the hills before noticed, presents an uncommon expanse, being generally from three quarters of a mile to two miles in breadth; but, in the dry season, contracting its stream to a very narrow channel, winding in the most fanciful meanders, and causing, by its waters being so dispersed in a very flat bed, more quicksands than probably are to be found in any river in the world. It is worthy of remark here, that several rivers in that part of the world, which have sandy beds, appear suddenly to be lost; owing to sand banks, that, during the stream’s violence, have been thrown up, so high as to be above the waters when the rains have subsided: the current continues very perceptible, but as the bar prevents the water from going forward, it passes through the intervals of the very coarse grit which forms that bar; and, perhaps, at the distance of half a mile lower, re-appears. The natives, who attribute every thing that can bear the perversion to some invisible agent, never fail to apply this as a curse upon any village that may be opposite to such a bar, under the opinionthat the waters ceased to run in its vicinity on account of some impiety, either known, or concealed, perpetrated by the inhabitants.
The Gogra, or Dewah, which takes its rise in the hills north of Gorackpore, dividing Napaul from the Company’s possessions, rolls its impetuous course through a country nearly desolate, and bounding its banks with most extensive forests and wildernesses. The soil is not so impregnated with nitre as in other parts, nor are the streams that form its volume tainted so strongly with minerals. Perhaps owing to the length of its course, which may be about 250 miles, or more, the more weighty particles may be deposited; for it is held that this river contains less obnoxious mixture than any part of the Ganges. Of lime it may certainly partake, since it runs through some tracts abounding withkunkur; but its course is chiefly through clay, sand, and a species of black potters’ marle, of which crockery is made in some parts of north Bahar, in imitation of our Staffordshire ware; though very inferior as to form and finish. For this, the neighbourhood of Sewan is famous.
The province of Bahar abounds in nitre; and every petty rivulet either takes its rise from some swamp strongly impregnated therewith, or passes through soils which yield it profusely. Those streams that originate in the Chittrah, Ramghur, Gyah, and Monghyr Hills, are often so veryhighly saturated with deleterious substances, as to betray their bad qualities even to the eye. The Mahana, the Mutwallah, and various mountain rivers in that quarter, which rush into the Ganges between Patna and Boglepore, are frequently tinged with copper, of which some small veins are to be found. An instance occurred, while the 12th battalion of native infantry was marching from Patna to the Ramghur station, where the whole corps were so extremely affected by the water, as scarcely to be able to ascend from the camp, then at Dungaie, to the summit of the Kanachitty Pass; such was the state to which it had, by its cupreous solution, reduced both men and beasts. Fortunately, it was very cold weather, and the use made of the waters had been very limitted.
Some officers from the same corps being on a shooting party, during the next year, happened to encamp at Dungaie. The kettle had been put on; the water, indeed, was ready for breakfast; but the gentlemen, on alighting from their horses, as usual, had water brought them to wash; when the contraction it occasioned in their mouths instantly reminded them of their former escape, and thereby set them on their guard: on enquiring, they found, that, either from want of memory, or through indolence, their servants had taken the water from the rivulet running at the foot of the pass, in lieu ofdrawing it from a well in the town, which was at no great distance.
Many such streams pour into the Ganges, either singly, or in conjunction with others. As to chalybeate influence, that cannot be wanting; for the whole range of hills, in the elevated parts of Ramghur, Rotas, Chittrah, Tomar, Pachete, Beerboom, Ragonautpore, Midnapore, &c., may be termed one mass of iron; lying in huge projections exposed to view, and giving the soil a strong rust color. The natives, in those parts, fuse immense quantities for sale.
The country from Benares to Patna is generally fertile in the extreme, abounding in rich plains, and affording far purer water than is to be found above that interval. At Gazypore and Buxar the waters receive no additional adulteration, except from the Caramnassa, which certainly is an impure stream. Such is the opinion held by the natives regarding this river, that, on account of its being necessary to cross it between Saseram and Benares, a road much frequented by pilgrims and devotees; particularly the immense hordes who repair from the Maharrattah country, to visit the holy Hindu city ofKassi, which is the name they give to Benares; that a rich man, residing so far off as Poonah, the capital of the Maharrattah empire, near Bombay, bequeathed a large sum of money for building a bridge, thereby to obviatethe necessity pious travellers were under of being carried over on the backs of men; who gained a livelihood by transporting those who, from over-nice scruples, would not wade through the stream, as they must have done through hundreds of others, before they got so near their holy object. Unhappily for those delicate gentry, the bridge did not, when I last saw it, about twelve years ago, seem likely to perform its office: the soil being sandy, and the architect understanding but little of his profession, piers had repeatedly been raised to about seven or eight feet high, but always gave way; so that I fear the poor itinerants must still pay their pence, and ride across as before; unless the edifice may be entrusted to European architects.
The Coosah comes down from the Morungs, a wild, mountainous country, replete with impenetrable forests, and containing some few minerals: however, on that head little is known; the extent of the wilds being such as to debar the possibility of exploring the supposed riches contained in the bosom of the mountains. From this quarter, and the continuance of the forest before described, which stretches eastward to Assam, and westward to Peelabeet, or further, the whole of the lower countries are supplied withsaulandsissootimbers, and some firs.
Such is the country in which the Coosah has its rise; quitting which, after a foaming courseof about forty miles, it enters the extensive plains of Purneah, through which it passes in a more tranquil state, though ever rapid, until it joins the Ganges a little below Colgong, which stands on the opposite bank, and where the Termahony, a small sluggish river of about eighty or a hundred yards in breadth, blends its waters with the great river. The Termahony is very deep, and, in the rainy season, equally impetuous. Like the Coosah, it flows chiefly through a flat country, during its short course, and as the soils in this part are sabulous, there does not appear any thing remarkable in the effects of the waters upon the inhabitants.
The Ganges may be considered as far more pure between Raje-Mahal, in the Jungleterry district, and Mauldah, or Bagwangolah, than for some distance above; during the dry season, it is remarkable for the clearness and lightness of its waters: after leaving this to proceed southward, we find them greatly changed during the rainy season, when the immense inundation which prevails throughout Bengal, properly so called, and which, moving in general at a rate not exceeding half a mile in the hour, may be considered as stagnant.
We now lose the great body of sand that in all the upper country forms the bed, not only of the Ganges, but of every river whose course continues uninterrupted during the dry season;though its stream may become insignificant. Here it should be remarked, that sandy beds generally produce the finest beverage, and that the water will be found more pure in proportion as the sand is coarse. Hence, the waters in the deep parts of such streams are invariably the sweetest; for the coarse sand will naturally find its way to the greatest depths, precipitating the impurities with it. On the contrary, the light floating sands, which with every little motion become agitated, will set the impurities also in action. Such are generally found on the borders of the stream, whence most persons derive their supplies, and where it may usually be seen in an active state; or, if at rest, blended with slime, or fibrous substances.
We should ever remember the distinction between the effects of fine and of coarse sand as strainers. Coarse sand allows heavy, or coarse bodies, to pass through it freely, provided the particles be not adhesive, or too gross for filtration: consequently, when such sand is deposited in the bed of a river, the lesser particles of lime, or of minerals and their ores, will sink, and remain fixed. Not so with fine sand; which has a greater tendency to compactness, and which, gradually filling up the smallest intervals, becomes firm, and resists all admixture with heterogeneous substances; the latter must, of necessity, remain on their surface, subject tobe taken up with the water. Persons accustomed to filtration must know, that, owing to this tendency, fine sand is by far the best medium to filterthrough, while coarse sand is preferable for the purposes ofprecipitation.
The inundation which overflows Bengal, especially in the districts of Nattore, Dacca, Jessore, the southern parts of Rungpore, and a part of Mahomed-Shi, is, perhaps, one of the most curious of nature’s phenomena! The wisdom of our Creator is most conspicuously shewn in the appropriation of sustenance, both for the human and for the brute species, suited to meet this annual visitation of the waters. However copious the rains may be in the southern provinces, though they might become boggy, and be partially inundated where the lands were low, yet, without the influx of these immense streams, which, owing to the declivity of the surface, pour down from the upper country, Bengal would, at such seasons, be but a miry plain, or a shallow morass. The great inundation does not, generally, take place till a month after the period when the rains have, according to the phrase in use, ‘set in.’ The thirsty soils of Oude, Corch, Allahabad, Benares, Gazypore, Patna, Rungpore, Boglepore, Purneah, and all beyond the 25th degree of latitude, require much moisture to saturate them, as do also those parched plains into which theyultimately pour their streams, before any part of the soil can be covered, indeed, such is the state of the southern provinces after the cold season, that that rich friable soil in which they abound is seen cake-dried and cracked by fissures of many inches in breadth, as though some great convulsion of nature had been exerted to rend the surface into innumerable divisions.
Under the circumstances of a flood, which lasts for many months, fluctuating from the middle or end of July to the beginning of October, (though the water does not drain off before the middle of December in low situations,) the inhabitants might be supposed to suffer under all the miseries of a general ruin and subsequent scarcity. The reverse is, however, the fact; for, provided the rains do not fall in such torrents as to wash away their habitations, and to occasion so rapid a rise in the fluid plain as to overwhelm the growing rice, the more ample thebursauty, (i.e.the rains,) the more plentiful the crop, and generally the less sickly does the season prove. The latter point will appear self-established, when we consider that amplitude of inundation serves, not only to divide the septic matter contained in the water, but likewise to accelerate its action, and cause its proceeding with added impetus to discharge itself into the bay. At this season, rivers are only known by the currents, and consequent swells, which appearamidst this temporary ocean! The navigation, for several months, assumes a new appearance. Vessels of great burthen, perhaps of two thousand maunds, (each 80lb.,) equal to nearly one hundred tons, are seen traversing the country in all directions, principally with the wind, which is then within a few points on either side of south. Noted cities, exalted mosques, and populousgunjes, or grain-markets, on the river’s bank, are not objects of attention. The boatman having set his enormous square sail, proceeds by guess, or, perhaps, guided by experience, through the fields of rice, which every where raise their tasseled heads, seeming to invite the reaper to collect the precious grain. As to depth of water, there is generally from ten to thirty feet, in proportion as the country may be more or less elevated.
It is curious to sail among these insulated towns, which, at this season, appear almost level with the surrounding element, and hemmed in by their numerousdingies, or boats, which, exclusive of the necessity for preparing against an over-abundant inundation, are requisite for the purposes of cutting thepaddy: rice being so called while in the husk.
So soon as what is considered the final secession of the inundation is about to commence, the whole of the boats are in motion, and thepaddyis cut with astonishing celerity.It is fortunate, that, owing to the country on the borders of the sea being higher than the inundated country, the waters cannot draw off faster than they can find vent, by means of the rivers which discharge into the Bay of Bengal, else the growing rice would be subjected to various fluctuations unsuited to its nature, and occasioning the straw to bend; whereby its growth would be injured, even if it should recover from its reclined state so as again to assume a vigorous appearance on the surface.
The waters of the inundation, it will be seen, are a mixture of all the streams flowing from every part of the extensive valley formed by the ranges of mountains stretching from Chittagong to Loll Dong, or Hurdwar, on the east and north-east, and from Midnapore to Lahore on the west and north-west, a course of not less than fifteen hundred miles, and generally from two to four miles in breadth. It may be supposed, that many impurities must be involved with these contributary streams, as particularized in the foregoing pages: to this we must add the offensive, and certainly not salutary, effect, induced by the Hindu custom of consigning every corpse to the waters of the Ganges, or of any stream flowing into it.
The Hindu religion requires that the deceased should be burntto ashes, on the borders of the Ganges, and that those ashes, with allthe remnants of wood used in the pile, should, together with the small truck bedstead on which the body was brought from the habitation to the river side, be wholly committed to the stream. The wholesomeness of such a practice, in a country where the strides of putrefaction know no bounds, infection and its effects being prodigiously extensive and rapid, cannot be disputed; such an ordinance may vie with the acts of any other legislature, however enlightened. But, either the poverty, the indolence, or the sordidness, of the people, has, in time, converted this wholesome precaution into a perfect nuisance. From fifty to a hundred bodies, in different stages of putrefaction, may be seen floating past any one spot within the course of the day. These having been placed on a scanty pile, and that not suffered to do its office, either on account of hot, cold, or wet, weather, have been pushed, by means of a bamboo pole, into the stream, to the great annoyance of water-travellers, and of all persons abiding near those eddies, where the nuisance may be kept circling for days, until forcibly removed, or until thepariahdogs swim in, and drag the carcase to the shore: there it speedily becomes the prey of various carrion birds, and of the indigenous village curs known by the above designation.
Under all the circumstances of such a combination of putrid animal and vegetable substance, of mineral adulteration, and of the miasma naturally arising from the almost sudden exposure of an immense residuum of slime, &c.; added to the cessation of the pure sea air, the wind changing after the rains from the southerly to the northerly points, are we to wonder at the malignancy of those fevers prevalent throughout the province of Bengal Proper, from the end of September to the early part of January, when the swamps are generally brought into narrow limits, and the air is laden with noxious vapors?
Although it appears, that the general sickness prevailing throughout Bengal at the above season, is induced by nearly the same causes that, according to our best informations, engender the yellow fever in America, yet no symptom of that alarming complaint has ever been known in India, nor does the bilious, or putrid fever, of Bengal at all assimilate in regard to symptoms with the American fatality. Certainly it is common to see whole villages in a state of jaundice, and in some years the ravages of the disease are truly formidable; but, though it may be classed as epidemic, we may, at the same time, annex an endemic distinction in regard to each village separately. Except in cases of putrid accession, or of obvioustyphus,there does not seem any danger of infection; and it has been proved, that the malady might, by proper care, be wholly averted. It is a fact, that, at several civil stations, and at some of the principal military cantonments, which were formerly considered the emporium of fever, the inhabitants have been preserved in an ordinary state of health merely by cutting a few drains, or by banking up such places as formerly proved inlets to inundate plains that now remain sufficiently free from water to allow of pasturage during the whole of the rainy season.
The confinement occasioned by a long term of rain, must necessarily alter the habit, while the incumbent atmosphere, being laden with moisture, must, at the same moment, dispose the system to the reception, or to the generation, of disease. The poor native does not change his diet, and very probably retains the same damp cloaths for many days. His temperate system of living seems to be his greatest aid in case of illness; those medicines that in him effect a great change being found comparatively feeble when administered either to one of a debauched conduct, or to Europeans; who, being accustomed to a more substantial and more stimulant mode of living, are not to be acted upon but by the more potent of the materia medica.
It has often been asked, as a matter of surprize, how it happens that Bengal has neverbeen visited by the plague. The question has been founded on the supposed affinity between that country and Egypt, in regard to the annual inundations; and to the narrowness, as well as the filth, of the streets in the great cities; which would, if the conjecture were correct, induce pestilence, as the same causes are said to do in Turkey.
The case is widely different. In Egypt, although the lands are inundated, rain is scarcely ever known to fall; the floods coming from the southerly mountains. Hence, the inhabitants are under all the disadvantages attendant upon a hot atmosphere, during eight months in the year, and are, for the remaining four, exposed to the insalubrity arising from the inundation, especially when it is draining off.
In regard to the narrowness of the streets, and the filth they contain, something may be said in alleviation. The houses in Turkey are much higher, are built of more solid materials, and the inhabitants being wholly of one religion, viz. followers of Mahomed, but partaking of some of the bad habits of the neighbouring countries, being also in a more variable climate, more pointed attention is paid to durability and to closeness in the edifices, than is commonly shewn in India. In the latter country, the utmost jealousy subsists between the Mussulmansand the Hindus, but the latter are most numerous in every place, even in the cities where Mussulman princes hold theirdurbars, or courts. This jealousy occasions the Hindus to look upon every vestige of a Mussulman as a contamination; and, as ablutions are enjoined even more by the Hindu law than by the Koran, which is the Mussulman’s book of faith, we may consider the person of a Hindu to be as clean and wholesome as repeated washings can make it. He wears only a small lock of hair, growing from a spot about the size of a dollar on the crown of his head. His cloaths are washed as often as his body, and, on the whole, it should appear almost impossible for him to carry any disease arising from, or communicated through, a deficiency of individual cleanliness.
The houses of the natives throughout India, if we except about one-third of Benares, about a twentieth of Patna, the same of Moorshadabad, and a mere trifle of the Black Town of Calcutta, are built of mats, bamboos, and straw; in the latter, they have been, under late regulations, tiled. The generality of village-huts are built with mud walls. On the whole, however, whether owing to cracks in the walls, or intervals between them and the thatches, windows, &c., the air finds a free course throughout. Add to this, that the natives do not sleep on feather beds, flock, &c., but generally on matsmade of reeds. This, of itself, may be considered a preventive against infection.
The fires kept up in the houses of the natives of Turkey are in fixed stoves, or under chimnies, which do not answer the purposes of fumigation. Whereas, the Indian, by means of a moveable stove, unintentionally fumigates the whole house; making the eyes of all smart with the smoke. This fuel is not bituminous; but, in every situation, is either wood, or the dried dung of cattle. Besides, the floor of a Hindu’s house is, perhaps daily, washed with a thick solution of cow-dung, whence a freshness is diffused, not perhaps very gratifying, in point of savour, to an European’s nostrils, but assuredly anti-septic, and answering various good purposes; especially as the walls are, to the height of, perhaps, three or four feet, smeared with the same mixture. The use of tobacco is common to both Turkey and India, and may be considered as contributary to a resistance against the damps during the rainy season, as well as against infection.