The Sun.
London, England, 1824-05-06 00:00:00

LIT-ERARY NOTICE,

The WONDERS of ELORA ; or, the Narrative of a Jour.
ney to the Temples and Dwellings, excavated out of a-Motin.
tarn of Granite, and extending upwards of a mile and $
quarter, at Elora, in the East Indies. With some general
Observations on the People and Country. By Joux 13'
SEELY Captain in the Itombay Native Infantry.
We have never felt so strengly as on the pre.,
sent occasion the necessity which our limits ix?'
pose upon us of being brief in our remarks. We
would willingly devote a much greater space t°
our notice of this interesting description of one
of the moat extraordinary instances of human
perseverance and ingenuity. Capt. SEELY sets
out by deprecating the censure of the Critics, by
disavowing all claims to merit as an Author, and iv
resting them solely on the importance of his sub-
ject. This is perhaps politic, but it is also unne'
cessary, as his work is written in an easy mos'
suming style, and his observations are those of 3
sensible, judicious, and impartial travelkr. Let
us, however, turn to the work itself. Captain
SEELY has passed nearly the whole of his life in
India, to which he went at a very early age, and
his manuscripts were composed without any
view to publication. His work is not, however/
a mere description of the excavations at Elora
his account of the country through which he tra'
yelled; and his observations on the state of so'
ciety in India, and on the manners of the inhs-
-
bitants, are highly interesting. It is time, how'
ever, to present our readers with a short descriP'
tion of his first view of Elora.
" Bruce's emotions were not more vivid or tumultuous 0$
first beholding the springs of the Nile, than mine were 001
reaching the temples of Elora. lat once rushed into the won'
ders and glories of these immortal works ; but it is totally irn'
possible to describe the feelings of admiration and awe excited
on the mind upon first beholding these stupendous excavations.
" On a close approach to the temples, the eye and imagine-
tion are bewildered with the variety of interesting objects that
present themselves on every side. The feelings are interested
to a degree•of awe, wonder, and delight, that at first is painful,
and it is a long time before they become sufficiently sobered
and calm to contemplate with any attention the surrounding
wonders. The death-like stillness of the place, the solitude
of the adjoining plains, the romantic beauty of the country, and
the mountain itself, perforated in every part, all tend to impress
the mind of the stranger with feelings quite new, and far diffe-
rent from those felt in viewing magnificent edifices amidst the
busy haunts of man. Every thing here invites the mind to
contemplation, and every
.surrounding object reminds it of
remote period, and a mighty people, who were in a state 0'
high civilization whilst the natives of our own land were barbs'
rians, living in woods and wilds.
" flow many ideas rush into the mind of an inquisitive and
thoughtful man at the moment lam now describing ! Hop
much delightful narrative might a more able pen than mine
give utterance to on the occasion ! I will, however (though
lacking the glowing descriptive power of some of oar rne-
dem writers), put th first view in plain language to the reader's
imarr'ination..
"Conceive the burst of surprise at suddenly coming upon $.
stupendous temple, within a large open court, hewn out 01
the solid rock, with all its parts perfect and beautiful, stand-
ing proudly alone upon its native bed, and detached fresl
the neighbouring mountain by a spacious area all round,
nearly 250 feet deep, and 150 feet broad : this unrivalled fans
rearing its rocky head to a height of nearly 100 feet—its lengtn
about 145 feet, by 62 broad—having well-formed door-ways,
windows, staircases to its upper floor, containing fine large
rooms of a smooth and polished surface, regularly divided 11
rows of pillars; the whole bulk of this immense block of iso-
lated excavation being upwards of 500 feet in circumference,
and, extraordinary as it may appear, having beyond its area,
three handsome figure galleries, or virandas, supported by re'
gular pillars, with compartments hewn out of the boundary
scarp, containing 42 curious gigantic figures of the Ilindoo
n
.
mythology—the whole three galleries in continuity, inclosi
the areas, and occupying the almost incredible space ofanlout
ly 420 feet of excavated rock ; being, upon the average,
13 feet 2 inches broad all round, and in height 14 feet BIN! a
half; while, positively, above these again are excavated fine
Ihrge rooms. Within the court, and opposite these galleries,
or virandas, stands Keylas the Proud, wonderfully toweringts
hoary majesty—a mighty fabric of rock, surpassed by no relic -
of antiquity in the known world.
" This brief outline will impart to the reader some idea 'ef
the Wonders of Elora! and if these temples do not excite in
the mind emotions of astonishment and delight, I have quite
misunderstood my own feelings. To build the Pantheon, the
arg
Parthenon at Athens, St. Peter's at Rome, our own St. Paul's'
or a Fonthill Abbey, is a task of science and labour • but we
understand how it is done, how it proceeds, and how it
finished: hut to conceive for a moment a body of men, NO'
ever numerous, with a spirit however invincible, and resources
however great, attacking a solid mountain of rock, in most pals
I'oo feet high, and excavating, by the slow process of the chisel'
a temple like the one I have-faintly described, with its galleries,
or Pantheon, its vast area, and indiscribable mass of sculpture
and carving in endless profusion—the work appears beyond b 1
lief, and the mind is bewildered in amazement.
We fear that we have already encroached upon
our limits,and must therefore unwillingly end with
the above quotation, at the same time promisin%
a future extract from this interesting publication'
The engravings which adorn the work, and which
we conclude, from the initials at the bottom of the
pages' to be mostly from the drawings of Captain
SEELY himself, are well executed, and much ail'
sist the animated description of the writer. After
this extract, we conceive that our Readers will
join'us in thinking
that Captain SEELY had no
reason to apologize for a want of literary power,
as the preceding extract will shew that he writes
with acumen, taste, and knowledge; with O.'
zeal of benevolence, and the solidity of philoso'
phic reflection.

It is proposed to establish a permanent Refuge,
for Destitute and Houseless Persons in the City 01
London, and the premises now occupied as the
London Workhouse have been suggested as suited
to the purposes of such an Institution.

COAL-MARKET, MAT 5.
ships at Market. Ships sold
89i Newcastle - - 52.
31 Sunderland - . 30

Prim. _
-31 s Rd to 396 uu
-31 s Od to 40s 041

BIRTHS.
Yesterday morning, in Stratton-street, Lady Jane Peel, of ll'
daughter.

On the 4th inst., at West end, Hampstead, Mrs. John Dlileo,
of a son.
On the 22d ult.' the lady of Wm. Gale, Esq. of Aldinghan3T
Lancashire, of a daughter.

MARRIED.
On the sth inst., at Marylebone church, Captain Francis
Davies, of the Grenadier Guards, to Anna, eldest daughter 0'
Lieut.-Gen. Dunlop, M.P., of Dunlop, in the county of Ayr._

DIED.
On Wednesday, the sth inst., after a very short illness, tle
widow of the late Right Hon. William Windham, at an ad''
van ced age.

On Sunday, the 2d inst., at his house in Russell-place, Arch-
bald Cullen, Esq., of the Middle Temple, one of hii IVlajsstO
Counsel, and youngest son of the celebrated Dr. Cullen.
On Friday, the 30th ult., Mr. John Ten Brucke, late of 014
Broad-street.

On the Bth ult., William Leckie, Esq., on his passage front
Surinam to London.
On the sth inst., at his house in Park-crescent, Portland-
place, John Brickley Cowell, Esq., in the 64th year of his age
On Thursday last, suddenly, aged 54, Mr. Mawer, a Yell
respectable draper, of Lincoln. Ile had just sat down to Wi-
per, and was seemingly in as good health as usual, when be
was instantaneously seized with the pains of death, and was a
corpse in a few minutes. Mr. M. was a member of the Wes-
leyan Methodist Society, and was a local preacher in that con,
nection for the last 35 years.

Printed. and Published for the PROPRIETORS, at the Set**
. ()MCI:, 112, Strand, by J. B. CARSTAiItS. .

I