The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-07 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

THE ASIATIC JOURNAL.
Parbury and Allen, London.
The very marrow of the Asiatic for this month is in
the biography,—if we may call it biography,—of
Paupiah Brahminy the Dubash of Madras, and ac-
cordingly we shall devote to him the greatest share of
our attention. Paupiah, though of a different kind,
is not less singular and original than the celebrated
Ras Michael, and, without allowing to the writer the
genius of Bruce, there is in this vigorous and charac-
teristic sketch much that reminds us of his powerful
delineations. A portion of this praise might perhaps
be better given to the marked features of the individual
thus pourtrayed ; and, though the idea has something
ungracious in it as towards the present writer, yet we
cannot help imagininghow the deep and peculiar linea-
ments of the Brahmin would have come out under the
pencil of Scott ere sickness had enfeebled him.
" Avadanum Paupiah Brahminy," says our author,
was--

" A character which, from the vehement contrasts embodied
in it, would require the colours of Rembrandt to depicture.
Supple, submissive, patient of affront and even injury—but
with the love of revenge—the odium in longum jacens—deeply
lurking in the recesses of a mind capacious of every project
that hate can devise or meditate. But the domineering pas-
sion was litigiousness. To the lawyers, as they were then
called by courtesy, he was -a treasure—a Peter Peebles,
though not reduced to indigence (for his resources were
ample), whose name for years alternately figured in the Mayor's
Court as plaintiff and defendant. He was almost a fixture in
his lawyer's chamber ; squatting down on a mat in some dark
corner of the room, patiently waiting till his papers could be
attended to. . At Mr. Samuel's. he might be seen sitting, ex-
cept during the short interval of a brief meal, which, consist-
ing of nothing more than a handful of rice, he would ' with
haste despatch and come again;' occasionally ejaculating, as
the attorney turned over the bundles of his other clients—
' Mll papers, master 1 Paupiah Brahminy, plaintiff, versus
Vencatachellum Chitty.' On one occasion his lawyer fell into
a short slumber ; but, when he awoke, could not help smiling
to find that the papers before him had been silently removed,
and those indorsed Paupiah Brahminy' placed directly under
his nose. But not a murmur of complaint or dissatisfaction
escaped his lips on account of any real or imagined delay."
• • • •

,c Where any thing that shunned the light was to be trans-
acted, he was the most efficient and useful of negotiators.
Yet there were shades of character in the man, upon which it
is pleasing to dwell. With hands dipped in the feculence of
his time—a mind never reposing from stratagem—disdaining
the tranquillity of virtue for the restlessness of intrigue. he
was faithful where he conceived an attachment, beyond all
example—passive and enduring in the cause he espoused even
unto death. Where he was made a confident to some defalca-
tion, into which a young civilian, for instance, had been be-
trayed by indiscretion or extravagance, he not only supplied
i out of his own means—but no tortures could have wrung
from him the guilty secret."

Amongst the faults or virtues of Paupiah, we know
not by which name to call it, was a heedless confi-
dence in the integrity of others. Upon this quality,
unusual every where, and particularly so amongst the
natives of the East, hinges a tale of patient revenge,
ending in ruin to its object, and only prevented from
assuming a deep tragic character by the vulgar means
adopted for effecting it. The story is briefly this. In
pursuance of a religious vow, the Dubash was about to
set forth on a distant pilgrimage, when either to win the
favour of an European high in office, or from a super-
stitious ordinance that inhibited usury at such a
period, he deposited, without interest, twelve thousand
pounds with a certain treasurer. Unweaned from his
confiding habits even by the repeated frauds practised
upon him, he took no receipt or acknowledgment
whatever, and the result was such as might have been
expected—the loan was denied. Persisting in his
demand, he was ignominiously thrust forth, and, in the

scuffle which ensued upon it, the turban was torn from
his head, the greatest of all indignities that could have
been offered to an Indian. But did no suspicion of
dishonesty fall upon the treasurer ? by no means ; he
was a rich man, and therefore a good man, whose re-

putation was without a blemish ; and the Court,—how
could it do otherwise ?—decided in his favour.
" For months after this discomfiture in the Mayor's Court,
Paupiah might be seen seated in the outward saloon of the col-
lector's office, with a shawl thrown over his head in place of a
turban, the only change of garb that denotes affliction among
the higher castes of Hindils. He said nothing, but his little
green eyes darted now and then an expressive flash upon P—
as he passed into the interior apartment, which, though impos-
sible to define, he knew and felt the meaning of. Some
affected to pity the poor Brahminy, from a secret misgiving,
probably, that foul injustice had been done to him. There
was no appeal. It was of no use to excite the sympathies of
the public. In India there is no public. As for the authors
of that injustice, the infamy was divided amongst too many to
be felt by any one. The moral deformity was like the physical
one of the Alps, where goitre keeps goitre in countenance.
But there was a vow registered in the soul of the man who
had been thus' wronged."
It was the custom of the . treasurer to secure the
public money in an iron chest, so massive, as to be
nearly irremovable ; this was unlocked by four keys in
succession, the masterpiece of the most skilful artist in
London, and so contrived-
4, That the first and second keys should be entirely at the
discretion of the party in whose custody they were placed.
These were changed each successive day, or as often as he
who was master of the combination might think fit. But if
the wrong keys were begun with, a bar shot suddenly and irre-
vocably into a deep grove. It is plain, therefore, that, in the
hands of a mere novice, the chances of hitting upon that which
was in the open sesame of the chest, were as four to one—and
if by accident the first should be the right one, they were three
to one against the right selection of the second key."

To make assurance doubly sure, it was his custom to
examine the contents of the chest every evening, and then

take the keys home with him. A day arrived.when, from
various causes, the chest was overgorged with coin and
bullion, and the treasurer, in consequence, went

through his precautions with more vigilance than ever.
As usual, Paupiah squatted in the outer room, watch-
ing every motion with a mournful expression, a custom
he had never failed in since the day of his legal de-
feat ; but now, when he made his wonted salam, the
treasurer observed that the small piercing eyes were
eagerly fixed upon him with a glance that had some-
thing in it of a far different meaning. He took no
farther notice of it at the time, but he had afterwards
ample occasion to recollect it.
In the morning when the treasurer came to his of-
fice, there sat Paupiah in his wonted niche, but
with a total change both of dress and manner. The
mourning habiliments, which he had constantly worn,
as if to commemorate his
„dishonour, were now ex-
changed for a tunic of the finest muslin, and his green
serpent-like eyes were sparkling with satisfaction. The
treasurer passed on, and found—his chest nearly
empty. At first he was more pitied than suspected,
but in a few hours strange rumours got afloat, and,
though they began in whispers only, these whispers
soon swelled into an open and loud report that a sum,
of the same amount, and in the same coin, abstracted
from the chest, had been deposited in the Carnatic

bank, in the name of the defaulter. Inquiries were
made in consequence—when the result proved
these rumours to be correct. The exact money was
found there, and under the circumstances - described.
But the story, as it goes on, becomes yet more compli-
cated. At a later period two of Paupiah's agents, being
dismissed from his service for fraud, accused their mas-

ter of the theft upon the treasurer's chest, though they
could give no information as to the manner in which
it had been managed. Paupiah was sought for in vain,
till two years afterwards he was apprehended on ac-
count of this transaction, sitting openly and without
any desire of concealment at his own door. Strange
to say, the agent, who had been confined in jail all this
time, upon being confronted with his master, threw
himself at his feet, acknowledged that he had accused
him falsely, and implored his forgiveness. But—
" The secret history of the robbery has never been revealed.
By what means Paupiah entered the office, or made himself
master of the mysterious process of the keys, remains in im-
penetrable darkness. It is supposed that, by long observa-
tion, he had so studied every speck of rust upon the two
which Mr. P- had separated from the others as he pro-
ceeded every evening to the chest, leaving the rest on the ring
as it were unemployed, as to discern the two keys which it
was requisite to employ first ; it being probably a mere mat-
ter of accident that he hit upon them in their right order.
That it was revenge for the indignity of the turban, there was
no doubt. Had it been merely the pecuniary wrong, those
who well knew the habits and character of that singular man,
have often maintained that so elaborate a scheme of vengeance
would never have entered his mind."
The review of Klaproth's " Letter to the Baron de
Humboldt upon the invention of the Compass," is in-
teresting more from the subject reviewed, than front
any light the critic has brought to bear upon the learn-
ing of the German. He stumbles even at the thresh-
hold in an unfortunate encounter with Alb2rtus
Magnus, whom he converts into Albert the Great,
with about as much propriety as if he had called him
Alexander the Coppersmith. It required, we should
have thought, no particular degree of scholarship to
know that Albertus Magnus is neither more nor
less than a translation of plain Albert Groot,
or Albert Great, according to the custom of
those days when it was usual to Latinize oz Grecize
the quality expressed by the names of individuals, who
were at all celebrated in the learned world. The Mag-
nus has as little reference to the mental, as to the cor-
poreal greatness of the Dutchman ; had his name been
Albert Schwarts, or Albert Black, he would in the
same way have been dubbed Albertus Niger, without;
the slightest idea of insinuating that he had the com-
plexion of a negro, or otherwise entitling him to be
called Albert the Black. A hundred similar instances
might be given ;—the celebrated reformer Melancthon,
among them—if we may suppose any one required
information on so common-place a topic.
There are some curious facts in this paper, which
we shall give, as we find them, without comment :
" The Italian name for the magnet is calamita, the origin
of which has hitherto been unsatisfactorily traced. The only
reasonable explanation is that given by Father Fournier, who
states that the old French mariners called the compass cala-
mite, which signifies a green frog,' because, prior to the in-
vention of suspending the magnetic needle, it was made to
float on the water, in a glass vessel, like a frog. The term
is of Greek origin : ' ea rana quani Graci calamitem vocant,'
says Pliny, quoniam inter arundines fruticesque vivat, minima
omnium est et viridissima.' One fact is remarkable, namely,
that almost all the European denominations of the loadstone,
or the senses of them, are also found in Asia. The French
term aimant is little more than a translation of the Chinese
tsze-shili, which is the vulgar name of the loadstone, and sig-
nifies loving.stone.' The celebrated naturalist Le-she-chin,
who completed his Pen-thsaou-hang-muh about the year 1580,
has a remark to this effect : ' if this stone had not a love for
iron, it would not make it come to it.' Eight centuries and a
half before his time (about A.D. 727), the same observa-
tion was made by Chin-tsang-khe, the author of the Pen-
thaou-shill-e : the loadstone attracts iron as a tender mother
draws her children to her, and hence it received its name.' "

" The first European author, who makes distinct mention
of the magnetic needle, is Guyot de Provins, who, in a sati-
rical poem, termed La Bible, directed against the Court of
Rome, dated about 1190, says that the Pope should be the
polar star of the Faithful :
De nostre pore l'apostoile
Vousisse qu'il semblat l'estoile
Qui ne se meut ; moot bien la voient,
Le marinier qui se navoient.
* „

Quant la mers est obscure et brune,
Qu'on ne voit estoile ne lune,
Dont font a l'aiguille alumer ;
Puis, n'ont-il garde d'esgarer."

" The use of the magnet in navigation, on account of its
polarity, we find mentioned for the first time, under the year
1242, by Baylak Kibjaki, in his treatise entitled Treasure of
Merchants for the knowledge of Stones,' which he published
A. H. 651 ( A.B. 1282). The passage is as follows :
" Amongst the properties of the magnet, it may be re-
marked, that the captains who navigate the sea of Syria, when
the night is so dark that they can perceive no star to guide
them according to the four cardinal points, take a vessel filled
with water, which they place out of the wind, in the interior
of the ship ; they then fasten a needle to a wooden peg, or a
straw, so that it forms a kind of cross; they put this on the

water contained in the vessel, and there it swims. •1 uul t
;- Le
s take a piece of loadstone, large enough to fill the palm 01 .",e
_
hand, or less ; they bring it to the surface of the water, gi,
their hand a rotatory motion towards the right, so that tae.
needle turns upon the surface of the water, they
draw the hand suddenly, and the needle, by its points, facs
the south-and north. I have seen them with my own eY.O3 do
Syria, to
this, daring our voyage by from Tripoli, in
sea Ids,
Alex—idr;" in t:
he —, .. e year 640 ( A.D. 1242).' The writer a'
the
that those who na:yigated the sca of India,
icedof
iron,
wooden pes• or straw, lubstituted a piece of magne
hollowed in the shape of a fish, which swam on the water,:
and indicated by its head,and tail the south and north points.
then with

* 41F
nn et,
" Many other discoveries, besides the polarity of the inic, d
were known to the Chinese long before they were disco diet
by or communicated to us. For example ; they were faini!ar,
from remote antiquity, with the attractive property of atn.l'erd
which is found in their empire, and of which they obtaintehe
large quantities from the Roman empire (Ta Tishn), 3S e
history of the Han dynasty expressly states. The attractiivter
quality of amber is distinctly mentioned by Kwo-pho, a wr
.who died in 324. The Chinese were acquainted with the calls,
of the flux and reflux of the sea long before the discoveryis:
Kepler.. The encyclopaedia entitled Tang-hy-hap, which st,
written under the Tang dynasty, consequently, at the latie,s/a,
Na-
before the close of the 9th century, cites a treatise " on the, the
ture of Things," wherein it is said " that the moon,
small
purest principle of water, influences the tides, which are
.„
or great, according to the diminution or increase of the nowof
In the Preface to the " Picture of the Tides," by an he
the 12th century, it is thus stated : " The cause of the 1,11
nomenon (the rising or falling of the sea) is owing to then rSig
nifty of the moon, for the waters go and come aeerci the
to the period of the day ; the moon turns to the right, an te
sky at its rotation to the left ; each day there is a cemPiieval
revolution, in which this luminary approaches the four catuino
points. Thus, when the moon is in the vicinity of the P°e to
of the compass named east and west, the waters increr
the east and west, and when it approaches the nort,h or
south points, the tide retires tranquilly towards the n°"_4(ls
south. This flux and reflux, in endless succession, declott
entirely on the moon, and not at all on the sun.' The hest
author adds :--‘ When the moon, in its course, gets fat the
from the sun, the tides are high ; but towards the end of
rev
new moon, they begin gradually to decrease, and for this
son we cannot then know their force (or measure).
• Chi'
In " The Sketches of Remarkable Living
• owe
ratters In India" is much that we think must, la 5
other shape, have met the eye of Sir Walter Sc°t.
The strange account of those singular characters, ere
lonel Gardiner and the Begum Sumroo, reminds us
• a litr
every step of the " Surgeon's Daughter." It is
rary curiosity, well worth appending to the new edition'

of the novels.
uovd 't
We pass over the account of " Hugh rof
which there is much talk as to the real mitt': thi
Junius," and no information ; " The Tales of or
Jungles," which might be very easily much bette oia
much worse ; " Greece," which offers no new facts „,a
no fresh inferences from those already know' el'sundry other articles, which, as Lord Dubeol.
iled
gantly phrases it, " are too numerous to be Li•-
,in this here advertisement."

BRUSSELS AND GERMAN ?APO'
i°ll
BERLIN, SEPT. 30.—The 20th number of the ea"ec,
of the laws, published to-day, contains the conventrief„htvlir
Saxe-Coburg for the cession of the principality of 1'; tile
berg to Prussia, and the royal letters patent, relative „•eie to
taking possession of that principality. The prearnl 19
the Convention is as follows :—" According to Artlc'e
of the Act of the Congress of Vienna of 9th Of tioiLlenti;
181.5,a portion of territory in the former French dePairto tbe
of the Soare, with:2s.ooo inhabitants was to be eeticut,..; tb
Duke of Saxe Coburg, which was accordingly dote `7 bet.
King of Prussia, by a convention of the 9th of SePten''ree
1816. This territory, with 25,000 inhabitants, 05;rio'
of the Ar
been possessed by the Duke, under the name 4ti,
cipality of Lichtenberg.
tbo
title by eof the Act of Congress, given their IN/a.icti%o
Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of Russia, the
Great Britain, and the King of Prussia, that they vc,e,--,1 ,ke tt
their good offices to enable his highness the
exchange the promised territory have remained 111ito
effect, his Highness not having met with an opP°rtullbol
make such an exchange as he wished, so that tile; Oces
mentioned Powers were obliged to declare their goo- °
exhausted.
tan
His Highness, however, considering the iacc'ece.;lache'l
arising in the administration of a remote district dr Ger
from the ancient territory of the Duchy, as well Uteri alf
vernment itself as to the subjects concerned, had tv%eng
ready induced ti enter into a negociation with the for
Prussia for the cession of this principality to his
a complete indemnity. i• :I, by
The negotiations have terminated in a consid4osll4
which
the Duke cedes Lichtenberg to the King' of °f
who, on his part, engages to give to the Duke " rev'
Coburg Gotha an indemnity, which shall not only 5.01,
his Highness a clear annual revenue of SO,OOO .`c11,0)31
rix dollars, but enable him partly by the ac uisitioa e. to
domains, partly by the purchase of estates, to acquire :t34,
ritorial possession."
The Convention in the 7th article is dated 311stlalor tAljee
The Royal letters patent for taking possess° to
principality, dated 15th August, 1834, annouriceVr
inhabitants that they are again to become -11
f t'a
subjects. :„e
The interval that elapsed after the official ncit-i- s.tect ' ,
cession of the Principalities to Prussia was erlaPel 7 tifr
Wendel 'at,
making the necessary preparations at St.
ceremony of taking possession, and of doing bonsl:Petervi°
Prussian Crown, which took place on the 22d of isn
to the great joy of the inhabitants
BRUSSELS.—OCT. 4.—Baron inhabitants.
thel r t
hire" t
Minister, has given up the hotel which be I'3'
Brussels, and has had his horses and furniture selt 15'
rusge
therefore, certain, that be will not come backsf)°°';
The following resolution of the Minister of 6°s'
cos that the French officers serving in our aril*"
on
_e point of returning to their own country
LEOPOLD, &c.—Our Minister of War is autiu°rlcer'lie e°
4;
grant to all the French officers, who shall quit thetiCs
of Belgium, to return to their country, one full ra°
as an indemnity."
6, DP"
C 0 Brussels, Sept. (2SBi,glnBe3d4)." 0111:3bs
uses

The cholera is abating at Ghent, but sever
cPS.
occurred in the neighbourhood. the ars►
The King is absent from Brussels inspecting, is pays
The Queen will not leave Laeken.—Brusj
Oct. 5.

sport—but
inhabitedp rpr
t were
lonltoilitiTi
ecbrhhyedhaaa
siyni
:hi
rbafd:b
fora
ttaraaahnil inhabitants
trained
yfto
period,interestingAt hnet '
—..._..................... , s
HAWKING EXTRAORDINAP";.
d the
the cathedral. For years past two hawks, a 0,.e f illiefor
la),
amateurs
apatrwe regulark
r;nnagktsi
noe seasons. oat nrhtse. u
male,t. have built their nests near the very stiol'ii°,lbecietbe
b ut exhibitionib ey haoilg:iilieadtio'
ocill,eitif.l:oe,r
gan tic steeple, generally remaining in their ari3,og Nana
much fill':ei,iigil.
tthree or four months, departing from and retuhrlitauts' 00
malema eburs especially, were highly gratified 11 uscithesc
evolutionsl:a
tshte•eperkueystu.haei
vii,ni.thac nefslll!pi rLbl se
i ur
A pi,,,,con was soon discovered to be the ()", place, 2 esq4
hie,- i
suit, and a crowd quickly assembled on the : ,o. their ,;sit,
spectators of the sport, many anxiously to for the re'jed
to the clear blue sky, in breathless interest , suceeecif,
After making a series of spiral movements, till:till' the / dg
int getting itself into a direct perpendicular so a upoll 0 A
we, the hawk, with one rapid swooP, Peuillecate sllleol'
prey, and was bearing it off in triumph to interestu''tilete
loudiand terrific shout, which testified the that it le be
ftude took in the scene, so startled the havvk diatel do
its hold of its bleeding victim, whose boa,' irellitco saY.' -nre,
gan to descend to the ground. But, strange once
°tile'
darted upon the fluttering pigeon ; and
less bird had fallen to within a few
hawk,_ instantly recovering its self-possession T' half: i
of
Of
thetotoit 3,
yards of
stheiezesdoi:;lt:hoei
the steeple, the victorious hawk had again
bearing it off in his talons, flew rapidly awa,Yof bearl
Scheldt, and was soon lost to the sight, and 0111:
of the shoutsand huzzas of the assembled
Cl/5
T 0 $ or'
REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS FOR
1 11 beittesl
OF WESTMINSTER.—In consequence of the Gul amagio, oti,
cupied this morning by the Court Lee en wg/ °
Messrs. Tamlyn and Thompson postponed their s
114
to-morrow. the Assel'a 14
BLANDFORD, Oct. 4.--The Ball at „,,cee, 01
Rooms last night (on the occasion of our races) pal koili.oo
the attendance of many of the nobility and prince and fobt)ets
the county, and presented such a display of beauty , 'isftet,ow
as is rarely witnessed. Dancing commenced shortly Loriactr,
o'clock to the music of Weippart's band, froam , til, er,
Amongst the company were of IlchestT-
_flu,„, J 30.1,
dell Elizabeth
dale. Ladies Theresa Strangways, Arun. , •t,
E. Baker, •
Orford, G. Murray ; Hon. W. Irby, Sir multitude. ,
1% e
Pedlar and Cleaveland, &C. ..--• .0
understand that this county will he probably t!t
e?illiato Sbi
with great keenness. The present member, Sir. h
anticipated sc•°
REPRESENTATION OF BERIVICKSIIII:t;a 11'04
Parves, has turned out more of a Tory than was ..anks,,
was married the other day to Miss Robertson of f die oid
is the brother 0 .1 co ,
heiress of 10,0001. a year, and who ,0 so , tr,
member, and an eminent stockbroker in Lona ot, he svilL
many ; and it is expected that Mr. David Mar
Lriaudyrsirl,ii.o
We augur tha P
forward in the Liberal interest. oti
successful.—Edinburgh Chronicle. • tincti • 0
broidered with gold, &c., would, according t '
value of money, be now 71. 10s. a pair.
Gloves; such as were worn by persons of a:l,s° (ciao`

COUI

IN TA

A mee
, m'olniricy. 1
of open`3,..„
arid petit
readers a
Prlvat e,

COURT
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to
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the een
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e ref,
otkal ase
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They then
alio of t.be
-ater, give
CI that the
then with-
tints, faces
xn eyes do
Syria, to
Tritr adds,
?ad of the
gizeci iron,
'the water,:
th points'

wing Cll3'
it, ill °lle
Liter Se,ott.
leters,
rinds us t"
t is a lite'
low edit°

nova,'
1 aathor,
ales of t'
ir
lr better
an
facts 30a
iown;
luberq: ed
inentiov

E 1

,raj cas-5

the e )(Is'
ig raj
osets

.it the
atvu-,4elcing
of lild DA' of
1,1 tower fe•
ua aocl cri•
fiale f the
reit °bode tio
al
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,utTils,,
and
s,ing. he
a,
citoe e bir
tiles

t of 1" P be
Pace
eir
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ng th
the rviiel
r.
_,ee
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Tith t oa lc
e e up a
ic vib
mate, OP
crest t h let e
that It
1, be'
'mediate Yth°
to 53Y-01' ore'
ce orl fife b
of
theutvoitoj,
.
zlle ea it, Div
over 'la
gay
0f bbearSt titucle.

CI f
T •ag
ahall be.istrateo
Magi, 00
r sittiog
1)1/'
he Aassoefl!'i
!NO ie
.ipal fticr,„btico
I
aty A
ortlY and1"
Dr
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