The Sun.
London, England, 1824-01-26 00:00:00

LITERARY NOTICE:

A TOUR through. the, UPI.4;;R. PROVINCES of HIN-
.
DPS,TAN; comprising a period between the years 1804 and
.1814 : with ReniarkSand-Authentie AnecdOtes:-
We have derived considerable gratification
from the perusal of this Work. • The vast turn-
.ber of Tours which daily issue from the press
are generally so-overloaded with- the remarks of
the Author,. that but little actual. information is
left to the reader. This however is not the case
with the Work.upon our table. 'lt. is avowedly
written by-a Lady, but the reader has no occa-
sion for-the exercise of his gallantry to-saramoa
up his-lenient feelings, as the arnoserrient contain-,
ect in: its pares ensure it his approbation. Its is,
simply and• unaffectedly written, the different
events are set down precisely as they occurred,
-and the absence of all political dissertations is
not among-the least of- its advantages: -
• The Journal commences with the- departure of
the fair traveller from Calcutta for the Provinces
in a western direction, and the different sketches
of the scenery of the country, and the oranner of
the inhabitants -aregiven with great spirit and ars
air of apparent •fidelity. As an extract, how-
ever, will enable our readers to •judge for them-
selves respecting the lady's styl,-, we shall lay One
before them, and we select the following, which
places in a strong light the infatuation of-the Hill-
doos with respect to. their different "casteff."
I- remember a circumstance which, occurred •to ,me shortly
after my arrival in the country, which astonished me not a
little, and distressed me very much. It is tbe custom for boats
going up or down the river to bring to for the:night, and make
test to die bank, generally near some village where the boat-
men may purchase food ; this they take the opportunity of
dressing on small stoves made at the time, of an adhesive
kind of clay, of which these banks are formed. Round these
they describe a circle, raised a few. inchee.from the ground, the
inside of which they smooth with the hand. until it has the ap-
pearance of being nicely plastered. The dcv?iiies, as they are
called, then place themselves round, to the number of three,
tour, and sometimes five in a.party, with theirlegs_tucked
der them, and commence their attack upon the curry with all
the eagerness of professed epicures. A number of these plans
had been formed on the only level ground. near our boat; 'and
being ignorant at that time of their customs,. I unfortunately
stepped into one of the magic circles in my attempt to reacts
t:
ron.in,q I
ir
the high land. Our boatmen made no observation at the time;
but on turning to view the prospect from
above
of the.rn employed in emptying the contents of their cooking
pots into the river, and afterwards breaking the' earthen vessels
en which their food had. been dressed: - j
son by me, who spoke a little English, what, this meant, I
wh usaywofsaevpeerslr-
learned to my surprise that /had caused theproceeding,
placing my unhallowed 'foot too near the :stove and its circular
enclosure. Laughable as it appeared to. ue, itewsis far from
being. so to them at the period I allude to ; fur as no village
within a mile and a half could be found, these poor infatuated.. people were obliged to content themselves with- iiarehed grain.
The .Hindoos are uniforMly tenacious in whatever respects
ancient custom, but partioulary so in regard: to the dif-
ference of caste. A yOung oo girl,' of. superior beauty,
had by 'chance been seen 'and admired by •a youth of the
same 'religion, but 'of inferior, cask. Knowing the' latter to
be an insurmountable barrier to the parent's consent, he at
length prevailed on her to elope With and marry him in his
own village. Her family soon discovered their retreat, and.
contrived by a stratagem to get her , again in their power.
Accordingly her mother was dispatched to negociate the
pretended reconciliation,: and prevail on her to return, in
order that the marriage might be properly celebrated at
her father's house. The poor girl, delighted at the pros.
pect of so fortunate an issue, readily accompanied her mother,
and was received.. by . her father and brother with open
arms. When three days had elapsed, and no marriage feast
been proclaimed, she began to suspect the treachery, and deter-
mined on seizing the first opportunity of returning to. the
husband she had chosen. A fa4ourable one seemed to present
itself; but she had not been gone long before she was Overtaken
by her brother, who affected to sympathize with, and offered to
see her safe home. The road lay through an unfregainted•
path, which taking advantage of, he drew his- swordatd•se..
vered her head from the body. She was found the .neo morn-
ing weltering in her blood. .
The following sho'ckiug -sckie may also serve
to convey an idea of the _deplorable auperstitica
of the Ilindoos

The ceremony commented 'by loud shouting, accompanied
with what they miscall music, alias, a combination of barba-
rous sounds produced from different instruments ; and an im-
mense concourse of Hindoos, who soon ranged themselves
round a wooden pole of about :10 feet high, fixed upright in
the ground. On the top of this pole, in an horizontal position,
were placed three very long bamboos, from which were quickly
suspended three men (brahmins), by means of large iron hooks
passed through the fleshy part of their backs, immediately
under the shoulder. These hooks were affixed to rings of the-
same medal fastened to the bamboo. In this manner they hung
for 15 minutes, swinging round with wonderful velocity. In
order to prevent the flesh from tearing through by the weight of
the body, a breadth of cloth waslied round the waist, and made
fast also to the hook. We were informed that this was an an-
nual and voluntary penance, by which the objects became
almost deified, and generally collected a sufficient sum of
money to support them the remainder of their lives. What will
not avarice, combined with superstitution, effect ? I was na-
turally desirous to know if these misguided beings were not
much exhausted by loss of blood, which I concluded must flow
from their wounds. The man to whom I applied for informs-
tion smiled, and told me that those who make up their minds
to perform this penance, determine on it at' least six months be-
fore-hand, and consequently have their backs prepared for it by
boring, just as for an ear-ring, first introducing a small ring,
and so gradually increasing its size, until it became what we
have witnessed. " The part," added he, "by constant fliction
soon becomes callous ; and what, appears to us 'so Shocking an
operation, is by them scarcely felt." Mark here the cunning
of the priest, who, to account for no blued wearing, (they
having been kept in ignorance of the preparation,) instructs the
people, that these men being saints, their blood is too precious
to, be spilled !

The above extracts are very good specimens
of the style in which the work is written ;. and
we shall take leave of it at present, confident
that the judgment of our reader% will bear us
out in the favourable opinion we have expressed
of its merits..

SEA SHARKS AND LAND SHARKS.
(From the Madras Commercial Circulator, Aug. 20.)
A melancholy instance of the frightful rapacity of a shark
occurred on Saturday morning (Aug. 16) in Madras Roads,
which deserves to be recorded. Mr. 'Hicks; lately from. the
Persian Gulf, was shipping a number of horses for Calcutta
on board the Maitland ; one of the horses hecoming'Very un-
ruly during the passage off, contrived to jurnp out 'of of the boat,
and there being no means of saving him except by towing him
to the ship, he was accordingly fastened to the stern of the
boat, and brcught alongside the illaitland. On his arrival there
one of the Lascars of the ship jumped overboard to "fasten the
slings under his body, when he was instantly seized by the sea-
monster, and carried under water. He came up, however, on
the other side of the ship, having passed underher bottom, and
was rescued from'the jaws of the shark, and brought on board ;
but he died in a few minutes, having had the whole of the
lower part of his body carried away. The horse was also at-
tacked and nearly torn to pieces ; hik belly was ripped up, and
his body dreadfully lacerated. H e was towed towards the share,
in the hope of doing soniething .to save him, but the poor
animal died before he reached the surf. There are land
monsters, however, which are even more detestable than
sea sharks. A black-bearded' Arab, who was disappoinf_
ed in obtaining the price he had expected for his horses, at
Madras, laid one of the-finest of his animals deliberakly down
on the Mouet-road a few days since, and cuthis legs off. We
trust the scoundrel will be laid hold of by the police,