The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-13 00:00:00

JUGGERNAUT.

" The East India Company has, it is said, determined
entirely to disconnect itself from the idol worship of Jug-
gernaut, if it can do so without positive breach of faith.
It has sent out instructions for the local Government to
ascertain if it is bound by any engagement to continue
its annual grant to the custodians of the temple; and if
not, as it is believed is the case, the allowance will be dis-
continued. The Raja of purdah, in charge of the
temple, has sent his mookteer to Calcutta to protest
against the measure."—ffirrkaru.
Now, the very question which according to this state-
ment is at the present moment puzzling the Court of
Directors has been already discussed in the valuable
work now lying under our consideration, and we
cannot but coincide with its author in thinking
that in it he has satisfactorily proved that the Go-
vernment may renounce all connexion with the Temple
of Jagannith, and with the idolatrous worship of the
Hindoos without any breach of faith whatever, but, on
the contrary, with the utmost possible consistency.
In testimony of this we would refer to the opening
pages of the inquiry, and to the work itself
passim. Mr. W. F. B. Laurie has not adventured
upon the task fulfilled in " Orissa," without having
previously rendered himself master of its difficulties.
Having twice personally visited the temple of Jagane
ninth, and strengthened himself with a multitude of
literary researches, besides benefiting himself by
the advice of distinguished civilians in the district—he
has entered upon the labour of writing " Orissa,
the Garden of Superstition." Those who may desire
an inkling of the theme treated of in this volume
prior to obtaining it for serious examination will be
interested, doubtless, in glancing through the fourth
instalment of the " Appendix," here transcribed into
our columns from the sth chapter of Coleman's " My-
thology of the Hindus." It is descriptive of the origin
of the worship of Jagannith :
"Since the gods (says the historian), as well as men,
must, it would appear, die some time or other, the love-in-
spiring Krishna was one day shot with an arrow from the
bow of a hunter, who most unceremoniously lett the
lovely form of the deity, whom the Gopias (milkmaids
of Mount Goondun) had so frantically adored, to rot
under the tree where it fell. After some time, his bones,
like those of the beautiful Rosalie in Sicily, were col-
lected by some pious persons, and made the pious means
of enriching the priests of the Hindus, as the more
tender ones of the virgin saint have done the reverend
fathers of Palermo. Having been collected, they were
placed in a box, where they remained till Vishnu, on
being applied to by a religious monarch, ludra Dhooina,
commanded him to make an image of Jagannia, and
place the bones in it. The king would willingly have
done as be was desired, but unfortunately possessed not
the skill for such an undertaking; so ho made bold to
ask Vishnu who should make it? Vishnu told him to
apply to Viswakarma, the architect of the gods. He
did so, and as promptly as our great architect, Air. Nash,
would undertake the building of a palace, his brother of
the Hindu pantheon set about forming the image of
Jaganniith; but declared, if any person disturbed him in
his labours, he would leave his work unfinished. All
would hare gone on well, had not the king shown a re-
prehensible impatience to those divine injunctions which
he had solemnly pledged himself to observe. After
fifteen days he went to see what progress the holy ar-
chitect had made; which so enraged him that he de-
sisted from his labours, and left the intended god with-
out either arms or legs. In spite, however, of this per-
plexing event, the work of Viswakarma has become ce-
lebrated throughout Hindustan; and pilgrims from the
remotest corners of India flock, at the time of the fes-
tivals of Jagannath, to pay their adorations at his mon-
strous and unhslluwed shrine."

Such is the source of the fantastic abomination (from
the countenancing of the homage for which the Go-
vernment is at length desirous to withdraw for ever),
such is the weird and marvellous myth which has ex-
cited the inquiries, and by doing so has tended to de-
monstrate the abilities of Mr. W. F. B. Laurie, who
in the volume before us has added another to our al-
ready numerous treasures of oriental literature.

MERKLAND: a Story of Scottish Life. By the
Author of Margaret Maitland. 3 Vols. Colburn.
Right welcome to us are the reminiscences of
gentle Mrs. Margaret Maitland. A genuine " touch
of nature is manifest throughout her writings, and
accordingly her pathos is more affecting, her simpli-
city of manner is more charming, and her genial
kindness more delightful than any of those artificial
attractions with which the practised penman adorns
some worn-out, common-place tale. There is also a
quaint originality in the manner of these
stories of " Scottish Life," considerably aug-
mented, perhaps, by the northern dialect em-
ployed by many of the speakers, which
renders them delightfully refreshing to the weary
readers of ordinary novels. " Merkiand" possesses
the /ame charming characteristics as its predecessor ;
it is as much pervaded with genuine kindness and
simple tenderness and unaffected pathos, as was the
story of the Lady of Sunnyside herself, while its in-
terest as a tale is much greater ; the plot is more
complicated, and the characters introduced are more
numerous. The theme of the tale is, moreover, one of
an exciting and terrible nature. A murder has been
committed some years previous to the opening
of the first volume. The suspected mur-
derer is consuming his life in voluntary banish-
ment, the real author of the deed is pining away un-
suspected by men, but a prey to a cruel remorse,
soothed by the ministering sympathy of a devoted
sister. The fugitive also has a sister, Anne Ross,
one of the heroines of the tale, who, though ignorant
of the truth, refuses to believe her brother's guilt,
and perseveringly endeavours, alone and unsupported,

LONDON,

to exculpate him and vindicate his innocence. Such
is the main thread of the narrative ; its interesting
nature may be surmised frail these details, and from a
knowledge of the truthful, and hence most powerful,
manner in which the author of " Merkland" relates
the thrilling narrative. Among the characters in-
troduced the most delightful, immeasurably the
most delightful in the book, is old Mrs. Catherine
Douglas dear, self willed, right-judging, kind-
hearted Mrs. Catherine. For her picture alone, for
her simple hearty discourses, we should have felt
grateful to the author of " Merkland," were the rest
of his tale as uninteresting, instead of being, as it is,
most attractive. Fault 3 it has undoubtedly, but the oc-
casional improbability of the incidents is more than
compensated by the general truthfulness of the cha-
racters. We shall be glad to meet again the author
of " Margaret Maitland" and " Merkland."

TIIE IDOL SHRINE. By the same Author.
Smith, Elder, and Company.
An epitomized version of the foregoing volume
has been here produced by Mr. W. F. B. Laurie, in
which he has very lucidly recounted the "Origin,
History, and IVorship of the Great Temple of
Jagarin(t.h " Additional information has, nevertheless,
been incorporated with this epitome, insomuch that
the pamphlet possesses much of the interest of novelty.
The readers of Robert Southey, those who have shud-
dered over the more terrible passages in the " Curse
of Kehama," will turn with avidity to a brief account
such as the one under notice, extending only to forty-
five pages, into which are compressed so much strange
and valuable information.

"Lo ! in the city of Jagannith—
Lo ! in the seven-headed idol shrine!"

all the marvels of the locality have been scrutinized by
the pamphleteer, and the result of his inquiries are
placed before us in this rapidly sketched but enthral-
ling and instructive outline. The brochure forms al-
together the very handbook to Hindu Mythology.