The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-11 00:00:00

THE ANNUALS.

TAE
ORIENTAL ANNUAL, FOR 1835.

All the Bull and Churton, London.
.s other Annuals are children of the same fa-
the only difference being that one is more or less
eiZtollie than the other. The Oriental is in nothing
did:them, and in fact is neither more nor less than
everend Hobart Caunter's Residence in India,
Nd into parts, and published annually instead of
the 10,
goie
etierei work appearing at once, according to the
the, fashion of travellers. This does not altoge-
-41. eet our ideas of an Annual, wherein we look for
klZtetY of topics and a variety of talent. We frankly
h blee' however, that our objection does not amount to
ray; being about as valid as the fault-finding of Mo-
iswhen all he could object to the beauty of Venus
lut that her slippers made too much noise. Let the
thlit ' therefore, pass unquestioned, and we may say
lie 'lf all the Annuals which have yet appeared—
ye:Zealt not only of the present, but of preceding
:1 aretzsml3 is by far the most instructive and the most
tifu ,CT. The engravings, too, are exceedingly beau-

,All history is painful, for it is little except a picture of
44e,
Ythe ertY, and wretchedness, rendered yet more vivid
Nttli false fires of glory lit up by kings and conquerors.
view :Pages of Indian history are even blacker in a moral
of
t'lan those of other countries, while on the part
the ah;unre the contrast is yet more brilliant. The skies,
the :''''' the rivers, the forests, all are beautiful beyond
iitinge,ci „i:aeti.t:eth:rnstl
we
of European fancy. In read-
4il seem to be transported into a brighter
World ; but in the midst of the most glow-
tas6'tan' we believe, the most just descriptions of the
tlist,citislvt eu;0°1111-le with no common feeling of horror and
," In 17 R ,Stleh passages as these :-
1-s°,le.,°,nfi.diBp7v,,,holat, Kaudir, a Rohilla chief, in whom the
ei "Le nr,4llPeronir had repOsed implicit confidence, made
billed th i-"Pticin upon Delhi, of which he became tr.iast.er,
-Ta f e weak Shah Allum, and after subjecting
leadia°rLa;ereral yveelvtsirLuotahe most humiliating mortifications,
abuse! ".tn with insults and exposing him to every atrocious
toikein order to extort from him the supposed secret of his
his erqed treasures, pierced the unhappy Emperor's eyes with.
tatal, lytashie, (a short two-edged dagger) ; thus rendering him
•ever'i ""nd. He likewise massacred and put to the torture.
cii,, 4` Members of the Royal Family ; nor did he quit the
J, Iqh
St l'h ere he had indeed rendered the imperial palace
,a housearm
a Ai,.
ileve -01ng, until the approach of Mahadajee Scindiasy
lattt "Int from the scene of his atrocities. A retribution,_.
",elteuver„' as sudden as it was terrible shortly overtook h
'no Pursued and captured b a detachment of t.he.ahriamttat'
deign and brow 1-. f
4-gu! be.ore their commander. Scindia did no
itiaii,,‘" titter a word, but, looking sternly on the hardened
'hew-IL who seemed to despise the fate which he took wellil
t*ll, uvaited him, ordered one of his attendants to asrd,
onm
'ls 1..:f. he had deposited the plunder of. the palace,
il.ihle ptii:tillgi, to answer, the Rohilla was given up to a trulya ter-
,'''rl a b s-ment : he was put into an iron cage, and suspended
,s aeant in front of the army. After being exposed too the
L''', h: men scarcely less ferocious than himself, his os!,
Zkr.t 41" s, and feet, were cut off, his eyes forced from their
I,%ll't'dand in this mutilated state he was ordered to be
til'all 4 on a lean camel and conducted to the unhappy
; ' cit urn, whom he had so unmercifully blinded. He bore
‘,"(ll,eadful punishment without shrinking7-with a heroism,
;44.1Ci'i-i,‘o`.!thy of a better. cause—but expired on his way to
gerin '" extreme thirst, brought on by the severity of his
d'tliiii.gs• His inexorable judge had previously ordered that
‘attli*. should be given to him either to eat or drink : his
raust th
* * erefore, have been one of intense agony."
*I * * * * *
tkeialpt hteteat.o,n, the Rajah's return from. court to his native land
(164 fen e.let the damsel, and determined, notwithstanding the
, -peat etion of
her father, and his own obligations. as the.
Plti,_4. "Ti. law and justice, o obtain the object of his admi-
ko4' *hos • n
ne -B"ahmi was an Aya Punta, or votary of Aya
Ileg.' ver e shrine is tit Bai Bhilara. The sectarians at
Ma-
lift''driYakdiffe.rent from the abstinent Brahmins of Bengal, eat
of m/rith the ine, and share in all the common enjoyments of
tube da„,rnartial spirits around them. Whether the scruplesl
d, Ater, -„"gnter were likely to be overcome by the royal
thl.ll9' ii;4. whether the Rajah threatened force, the memoir.
;4thtec"l us • but there was no other course by which
kke,..v,tl to could save her from pollution but by death, he re-
ar‘eiph 4114,ia,ke it one eof vengeance and horror. H e dug a
tett; and and having slain his daughter, cut her into frag-
Ito. 11 41ingled them with pieces of flesh from his own
litet'akiltrite the burnt sacrifice of Aya Mata, and as the
kk,„ljah • "es ascended, he pronounced an. imprecation' on
4r -' (11 --,Let peace be a stranger to him, and in three
It Ne 1•°11rs), three days, and three years, let me have my.
I:Zi'BD). l'heu exclaiming, ' my future dwelling is the Dabi
hale,l o tOng into the flaming pit. The horrid tale was
tree-
l'riodc't t;l„ll,aiah, whose imagination was so haunted by the
' k b` Brahmin, that he expired just at the assigned
Ago pre to unceasin remorse."
rli 41inatilike
1., eq a. ens these, which go. back to the
rear atial_
tin atice h 1' of the country, and which, to all ap-
'°ll it ' -aye Cursed India since the sun first shone
ht ti(l _ whi,
hope' le they disgust us with the past, make us
tte r ess for the future. They leave us, however,
the eas,
~, tee in to regret with some pseudo philanthropists
o'fl°4 hal:d11 eenquests in India. The English domi-
the oae much
the pieta
to ameliorate the harsher features
e. krie
vle, Wherever it has extended, though still
I:derY tu:A -- Prevails there, which lies at the root of
lo i!e lia7rdPl7ll community,—Labour feeds poorly and
th(.l. ea w. IY' While that unreal mockery, Capital,
' irk, ita folded
tile
~. Ilut hands and devours nearly every
reader e turn to more pleasant subjects. If
tlp,tl er ad .
a scale--Intre ~, •,*
Pea,isl),. usor
ligsrtgnintheence, he will here find it
gigantic, atdindtwhe comparison, Eur.o-
Nil , if gifted dwarfed an
::: .ealiettilidi: 'With a urer taste,in_deled into
pareinsignifi-
for °f nature, he will findb bothloveshtehree sublime
nmae
b whi
sees
thirty, Solis past experience has totally unpre-
-41 to it: 0/ poor would tbe. balls of Windsor
6` I the inhabitant of palaces like this :
th'it 'a4ithe first
'leo, arke court there is a cannon of so vast a calibre
N'i,l:red, nllcl May lie in it with ease. I believe it is now
,I°,ltiehlie audip"ll the Z"cond court is the Dewan Aum, or hall
!„‘ °Pm'," 11011„ei% The musnud (Mahomedan throne) upon
'"lseati * It ,Z,;" .r-,ttiperors n '. sat was a most costly piece
got des. enitti,rely-selonnltlie_ fo.rml3ofLE;. peaC.7k
ttbeitney,
vsil:e of stet: rdwith__ the tail out-
^ other precious
paeßeolls ,nad been P\leel of diamonds
millionsan..-...,. This
at seven sternub.
111)04iiinatleuo'l
triiNlaqir shiirize.was thakenriaewdaeyf by
sthat ra-
k la rli,th le rriPerors hi predal
ndie tne thi 4 e'stiY th of DaeThcialtiaveepabeen content to sit
repr ''ee, b . rd court . throne.
is the Dewan Kauss, or hall of private
trttcturelle:tatillo'nits eorruire
, marble, and richly ornamented with
' 44(1 the interior flovvers. This s a very elegant
scarely less costly than that of the

Dewan Aum. Over the arches which support the roof is the
following inscription in Persian characters, beautifully inlaid
with silver on a ground of dark but brilliantly polished
marble :—' If there be heaven on earth, it is here, it is here,
it is here.' The characters are large and admirably formed;
indeed, I think it is the finest specimen of the Persian text I
ever witnessed. In this hall there was an immense block of
crystal, on which the unhappy Shah Allum always used to sit
when he held a private audience of his ministers. Its super-
ficial measurement was four feet by three, and it was eighteen
inches thick, The apartment formerly devoted to the royal
privacy, into which no one was permitted to intrude but upon
business of great moment, is close by the Dewan Kauss.
It was gorgeously furnished. Over it is a gilt dome, the most
spacious in the place. The gardens are now quite in ruins.
In the centre is a large square basin, said to have been origi-
nally lined with crystal. It contains gold and silver fish. Close
by it there was a marble seat for the emperor's use when he
chose to visit the gardens. At a short distance was a large
bath, much like a huge sarcophagus, cut out of the solid mar-
ble. Between the garden and the Dewan Kauss are the royal
baths ; they are composed entirely of marble and elaborately
embellished, the floors and sides being elegantly inlaid with
flowers of variously coloured stones."

In opposition to all former writers on the subject,
Mr. Caunter maintains that the poisonous fangs are
not previously extracted from the Cobra di Capello,
exhibited by the Indian jugglers. So far from this be-
ing the case, the jugglers will bring them in from the
jungles, and an instance of their being bitten is scarcely
ever heard of:—

" The dexterity of the jugglers in managing these danger-
ous reptiles is truly extraordinary. They easily excite them
to the most desperate rage, and by a certain circular motion
of the arms appease them as readily ; then without the least
hesitation they will take them in their hands, coil them round
their necks, and put their fingers to their mouths, even while
their jaws aro furnished with the deadliest venom, and the
slightest puncture from their fangs would produce not only
certain but almost instant death. _ _ _

vV
" The power which these people exercise over this species of
venbmous snake remains no longer a mystery when its habits
are known. It is a remarkable peculiarity in the Cobra di
Capello„ and I believe in most poisonous reptiles of this class,
that they have an extreme reluctance to put into operation the
deadly powers with which they are endowed. The cobra
scarcely ever bites unless excited by actual injury or extreme
provocation, and even then before it darts upon its aggressor,
it always gives him timely notice of his danger not to be mis-
taken. It dilates the crest upon its neck, which is a large
flexible membrane having on the upper surface two black cir-
cular spots like a pair of spectacles, waves its head to and fro
with a gentle adulatory motion, the eye sparkling with intense
lustre, and commences a hiss so loud as to be heard at a con-
siderable distance ; so that the juggler always has warning
when it is perilous to approach his captive. The snake never
bites while the hood is closed, and so long as this isnot erected
it may be approached and handled with impunity. Even when
the hood is spread, while the creature continues silent, there
is no danger. Its fearful hiss is at once the signal of aggression
and of fearful peril.
" Though the cobra is so deadly when under excitement,
it is nevertheless astonishing to see how readily it is appeased
even in the highest state of exasperation, and this merely by
the droning music with which its exhibitors seem to charm it.
It appears to be fascinated by the discordant sounds that issue
from their pipes and tomtoms."

Long as these extracts have been, we cannot con-
clude without giving a specimen of English poetry by
a young Hindoo. The lines are exceedingly sweet
and pretty, and deserve praise without any reference
t o the author ; but when we consider that they were
written by a stranger in the most capricious and dif-
ficult of modern languages, they are really wonderful :
" Gold river ! gold river ! how gallantly now
Our bark on thy bright breast is lifting her prow !
In the pride of her beauty how swiftly she flies,
Like a white-winged spirit through topaz-paved skies !
" Gold river ! gold river ! thy bosom is calm,
And o'er thee the breezes are shedding their balm ;
And nature beholds her fair features pourtray'd
In the glass of thy bosom serenely display'd.
" Gold river ! gold river ! the sun to thy waves
Is fleeting to rest in thy cool coral caves ;
And thence, with his tiar of light, in the morn
He will rise, and the skies with his glory adorn.
" Gold river ! gold river ! how bright is the beam
That lightens and crimsons thy soft flowing stream !
Whose waters beneath make a musical clashing—
Whose waves as they burst in their brightness are flashing !
" Gold river ! gold river ! the moon will soon grace
The hall of the stars with her light-shedding face ;
The wandering planets will over thee throng,
And seraphs will waken their music and song.
" 6 Gold river ! gold river ! our brief course is done,
And safe in the city our home we have won ;
And as to the bright sun, now dropp'd from our view,
So, Ganga, we bid thee a cheerful adieu !"