The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-03-31 00:00:00

CRUELTIES OF JUG GERNAUT. —The following extract
from a letter of the Bishop of Calcutta contains a forcible
picture of the Juggernaut idolatries :—" I have visited the
valley of death. I have seen the den of darkness. Jugger-
naut has been trodden by these feet, and seen with these
eyes, after thirty or forty years hearing about it. The dread
pagoda is situated in the vicinity of this village, called Pooree,
of which the narrow streets and wretched abodes are only
emblems of the moral ruin and misery it diffuses. A town
of 50,000 souls is held together by the direst superstition ; no
trade but sin, no art but delusion and lies, no bond of union
but communion in idolatry. Nothing has yet been dune to
abolish these idolatries. The horrors are unutterable. 150,000
pilgrims attend yearly, of whom about one-third perish by
hunger, fatigue, or cholera, yearly. They come from all
parts of India. The larger number are women ; who concert
their plans for the journey unknown to their husbands and
families, and start off at a moment. The abominations con-

sequent may be judged of by this trait. It is a scene of
plunder, cruelty, and lust. When the caravans arrive, a
perpetual tight takes place among the Pooree inhabitants
who shall receive the helpless wretches, who are plundered,
not only of all they possess or can procure, but of all they
can borrow at immense interest. About five days finish the
process ; the stripped multitude then proceed on their re-
turn. The sick are uniformly left behind, to whiten with
their bones the accursed plains. Those plains are barren
sands, thrown up from the beach by the south-east monsoon.
The seasons of pestilence are chosen, as it were, to heighten
the misery ; for instance, June, when the extreme heat is
suddenly succeeded by the rains and the cholera among the
undefended crowds. The sick still throw themselves under
the wheels of the car; bands of music, troops of dancers, or
prostitutes of the vilest order, noisy, intemperate debauchery,
with the most filthy and unutterable pollutions in figures,
exhibitions, and songs, make up the religious rites of Jugger-
naut. The pagoda, or circuit of the enclosed temple, is a
mass of heavy building, of which no one is allowed to pene-
trate the interior, because the cooking is perpetually going
on in the inner circuits, and the passing of a Christian would
defile the whole culinary establishment. If we had chosen
to pay 2.000 rupees for recleansing the sanctuary afterwards,
we might have been admitted. Such is Juggernaut! Dr.
Buchanan's description is most true. Cruelty, lust, op-
pression, disease, famine, death, follow in the train." We
only ask, what are we to think of Lord Auckland's allowing
the continuance of such abominations under the patronage j
of his government, and in so doing acting in opposition to
his own council?

MARRIAGE OR DEATH.---I sallied out for a stroll on the
Pont Neuf, in all the splendour of a new plume. Abutting
on this bridge, there was a tower, which served the purposes
of a prison. Within were confined several ladies of' rank.
At this time there was a regulation, that a republican soldier
might marry a noble female prisoner, and thus effect her
liberation. At the same time, however, he became respon-
sible for her conduct. If it chanced that she was afterwards
found guilty of any aristocratic complicity, the husband was
at once considered as an 'accomplice. The ladies in the
prison wishing, no doubt, for liberty, called to us, holding
at the same time billets-doux in their hands, " Citoyen,
eitoyen," We were well aware of the meaning of this. The
billet-doux contained an offer of marriage. As there were
some pretty girls among them, we immediately inquired for
which of us the notes were intended, and they forthwith
explained. The note intended for me contained an invita-
tion to come into the gaoler's lodge, and have a conversa-
tion. Away we went to the gaoler's, anti sent for the parties
in question. When they came, eaoh one instantly rushed into
the arms of her chosen squire. Mine was most affectionate
and tender. I could save her life, she said ; she was possessed
of considerable wealth—a castle in La Vend6e, and so forth.
We sent for biscuits and wine, and, partly influenced by their
charms, partly touched . with pity for their misfortunes,
partly, too, blinded by, the glittering prospects they held out
to us, promised to marry them. Next day we actually did
wait on our captain, and represented the case to him. But
he prudently admonished us on the great hazard we ran in
marrying females belonging to- noble families, for whom we
should have to be responsible, and who, as soon as they had
escaped from the guillotine, would take the first opportunity
to decamp, and thus involve us in difficulties. This brought
us again to our senses: Wishing, however, to give the girls
an answer, we went to the jailer for the purpose of seeing
them once more. But they had just been sentenced to
death ; and next morning, at eleven o'clock, they were to be
guillotined. In the square'where the guillotine used to work
was the coffee-house at which we breakfasted. At eleven,
the unhappy creatures were brought to the spot. Believing
in our asservations, they still gazed around with longing,
lingering looks, as if in hopes of discovering us. We care,
fully avoided their glances, which every montent became
more and more sorrowful, the nearer they approached the
scaffold. My chosen one was the wand to mount, and in a
few seconds the five beautiful maidens were no more.—Life
of j. Sleininger.
TURKISH PIPES.—The wonderful way in which the use of
tobacco has spread into every country of the world, in less
than three centuries since its first discovery in America, hap-
pened to be mentioned in conversation the day Mr, Maude
spent here ; and we were all amused by his account of the
mode of smoking in Turkey. The Turkish pipe, which is
called a Mibouque, consists of the tube, the bowl, and the
mouthpiece, so that they are ail easily separated and cleaned.
The manufacturers of the tubes are 'seen at work every day in
the shops of Constantinople,where there is a bazaar, or street
of shops, entirely for their sale. They are made from the
young straight stems of cherry-tree or jessamine, on which
the bark is carefully preserved ; they are from two to six feet
in length, and are nicely bored with a wire auger. The
nursing these stems, during their growth, is often the sup-
port of a whole family, and requires a good deal of attention.
To prevent the bark, from splitting in the heat of the day,
each stem is swathed in wet bandages, and the least tendency
to become crooked is counteracted, either by a judicious ap-
plieation of the bandage, or by more copiously watering the
plant on one side than the other. A perfectly straight stem,
with a uniformly shining bark, is, however, a great rarity,
and sells for about two guineas. The bowls are made of a
clay called kefkil, found in Asia-Minor and in Greece. In
its native state it is soft and white, but, when baked, it be-
comes hard ; and, unlike the English pipeclay, turns to a
black or red colour. The bowls are made of all sizes. The
Turks do not like them very large; but. those exported to
Germany, where they are polished and finished with great
elegance, are as large as a man's hand. Mr. Maude gays he
was astonished by the piles of bovils in every. shop of the
bazaar. The bowls are frequently ornamented with gilding,
and the tubes with embroidery and jewels; but it is on the
value of the mouth-piece that a Turk prides himself. Node
but the miserably poor would use anything but amber ; and
though the common sort are cheap enough to suit all ranks,
Mr. Maude has seen some which cost a hundred pounds, not
from their size, but from some favourite tinge in their ap-
pearance. " With such a pipe," he says, " and with Salo-
niki tobacco, a Turk is supremely happy. Cross-legged on
his Persian carpet, he enjoys it the whole day, and, except to
call for more tobacco, or for a cup of coffee, he seldom opens
his mouth, as the smoke is emitted, from time to time, in
long cloudy columns from his nose. Pipes take the lead in
every visit, and are preliminaries to every conversation. The
most
flattering compliment a Turk can pay to his guest is to
present him with his chibouque warm from his lips; and I
shall never forget the mixed look of indignation and contempt
which a bashaw of three tails threw at an Englishman, who
unwarily wiped the superb amber mouthpiece before he in-
troduced it between his own lips."—Bertha's Journal.
TIIE SLAVE AUCTION.—Being detained a day in Mobile,
I visited the slave market. The hour of sale had not arrived;
but I found six poor creatures awaiting their doom, surround-
ed by persons who were examining them. The market-place
is happily chosen. It is in front of the Court-house—its steps
are the auctioneer's stand, What place so fit for the sale of
human souls as the vestibule of the temple of justice? It
was the day of the municipal election; the court was in ses-
sion, and employed in naturalizing foreigners—making free
citizens of European strangers, while American-born men
were standing at the door about to be sold like brutes to the
highest bidder. The court adjourned about noon. The
crowd gathered round as the auctioneer mounted the steps,
and called one of the slaves, a woman, to take her place on
the stand. Shs approached sadly; perhaps she was thinking
on her efiildren, left without a. mother.. May God care for
them ! " Here, gentlemen, is Sophia—a good servant. How
much •am I offered for. Sophia ? one hundred dollars—title
good—only one hundred dollars is offered--one hundred and
fifty:" Bystander—" How old is she ?" " Forty years old
—good cook, washer, and ironer. She will save you twenty-
five dollars a month—going at one hundred and fifty dollars.
One hundred and seventy-five—going—one hundred and

b Lwice—gone." Another woman
was called. She seemed careless, and unconcerned : oppres-
sion had crushed her soul. " Here, gentlemen, is Sally7-nn
excellent cook. How much is bid? Title guaranteed—the
smallest favours thankfully received—three hundred dollars
is offered—she can cook French fashion, English fashion, and
every other fashion—three hundred dollars—four hundred
—why, gentlemen, she is given away—only four hundred
dollars for a good cook—four hundred and fifty—going at four
hundred and fifty—four hundred and sixty—going—once,
twice—gone." The next individual sold was a drayman, who
was bid off at four hundred and sixty dollars. Then came a
little girl, ten years old. " Here, gentlemen, is a girl from
the country—title can't be disputed—one hundred dollars is
bid—she speaks French—she don't understand English."
Bystander.-L" Is she an American ?'; " Yes." Habit come
to this, thought I. Is the American name a marketable com-
modity ? A Roman citizen was respected among barbarians ;
but in our country the American name adds value to a slave'
She was finally struck off at one hundred and nine

..... dollars.
Another trembling little girl was placed upon the stand.
" How much am I offered for this girl Peggy ? Sheds ten
years old—title good—one hundred and fifty dollars is bid—
she is a very intelligent girl—two hundred dollars—she is a
good nurse—and two hundred dollars is all I am offered—she
is healthy—a little scared, just now—two hundred and fifty
dollars—who said three hundred ?-0,0 ;€,