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CHAPTER IX.

FURREEDPOOR TO BOGLIPOOR.

Blind Beggar-Crocodile-Ape-Silk Manufactory-Basket for catching Fish-Bogwangola-Strength of Current-Begging DervisesAnt-hills—Rajmahál Hills—Gour-Rajmahál-Sultan Sujah's Palace -Puharrees-Caves-Gossain-Boglipoor-Schools-Religion of Pu

harrees.

We had a noble breeze, and went on rapidly, all sail spread, when all at once, to my great surprise, the Serang brought up the pinnace so suddenly, that he almost laid her on her beam-ends, and the water flowed in at her lee cabin windows; a very little more wind, and she would have turned quite over. On running out to learn the reason of this manœuvre, I found Mohammed pale, Abdullah scolding, and the crew endeavouring with more haste than good speed, to get in the top and topgallant sails. It appeared that the steersman had seen a shoal right ahead, and so close under the bows, that even the rapid bringing-up of the boat's head was barely sufficient to avoid it. The fact is, however, that such mud-banks as are usually met with here would have been less dangerous with our flat bottom, than the expedient which they put in practice. However, I ordered two men forward with long bamboos, to sound wherever

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there appeared suspicion in future; and exhorted them, when they found occasion to bring up so suddenly again, always to let the sails go at the same time.

The river is here, I should think, from four to five miles wide. We advanced up it with our fine breeze at a great rate, till nearly seven, when we brought to in a swampy and inconvenient spot, immediately opposite Jaffiergunge, being very nearly the same place where, with poor Stowe, I had crossed the river a month before. It now swarmed with fishing-boats, but offered vessels of no other description. Many nullahs branch out of the main stream in every direction. I found to-day that these people do not apply the name of Gunga at all to this stream, but call it "Pudda." My ignorance of this fact used to perplex me exceedingly, both in asking questions and receiving answers. They know no Gunga but the Hooghly; and the Burra Gunga (Great Ganges,) by which I tried to explain myself, was always mistaken by Mohammed for the "Boori-gonga," a comparatively insignificant stream near Dacca.

I forgot to mention in their proper places the things which I saw while at Furreedpoor. One was a specimen of the native fox, running near Mr. Warner's house, and so little afraid that one might almost have laid hold of him. He was a beautiful little animal, not much larger than a hare, of a more silky fur and squirrel-like tail than the English reynard, and is rather serviceable than otherwise, inasmuch as though he sometimes

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BLIND BEGGAR AND HIS WIFE.

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catches small birds, his chief food is of field-mice and white ants. Another circumstance was, that boat was visited by a blind beggar, (a young countryman,) with his wife, a fine young woman, her features not very delicate, but her person remarkably well made, and the tallest female whom I have seen in India. I gave them alms, and when she thrust out her hand to receive them, she displayed massive silver bracelets, worth, I should think, at least 25 or 30 shillings. Yet these were beggars; and to judge from their scanty and wretched clothing in all other respects, I doubt not objects of pity. But for this poor woman to sell her bracelets, was a thing which probably never would occur to her as possible, except under urgent and hopeless hunger. She had also rings on her ancles, which, indeed, drew my attention to her sex, for her height made me at first suppose her to be a young man, and her dress, which was a coarse sackcloth mantle, might have belonged either to male or female. Her manner was extremely modest; she never let go her husband's hand, and was evidently annoyed by the sort of notice she attracted from the boatmen and my servants. The old blind man led by a little boy, whom we saw on the Chundna, made his appearance also at Furreedpoor, a proof of his wandering habits. The existence of these beggars, as it implies that they obtain some relief, may seem to exculpate the mass of Hindoos from the charge of general inhumanity and selfishness, so often brought against them. At the same time, in a

VOL. I.

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country where there is no legal provision for distress, it is almost needless to observe, that in cases of blindness, leprosy, lameness, and helpless old age, to give to beggars as we have the means, is an obligation of justice as well as charity.

July 29.-Our course the early part of to-day was chiefly along the north-east bank, and in part through a succession of "aits," beds of reeds, and overflowed ground cultivated with rice. The weather pleasant, and not very different from an English summer day. Indeed, I have as yet seen nothing to make me lose the opinion that the rains in India are by no means an unpleasant season. Several circumstances reminded me painfully of poor Stowe. At about half-past nine we passed what he and I had, in our previous passage, taken for a clump of tall trees; but which, now that I saw it nearer, appeared to be a single but very majestic banyan. I looked in vain for the islet where we passed our evening, (his last evening of health and high spirits,) and where he waded after the wild ducks into the marsh, which so unhappily affected him. The increasing flood had now covered it; but I recognized the village where we passed our first night in what we called, in merriment, "India beyond the Ganges;" where we saw the dwarf, and the "lodge in the garden of cucumbers;" while, standing out a little, to avail ourselves of the wind in the next reach, we grounded on a part of the same line of marshy islets which we had traversed on foot a few weeks before. could not help feeling that now I had nobody to

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compare my impressions with; none whose attention I might call to singular or impressive objects, —that I was, indeed, a lonely wanderer! Such thoughts are, however, useless, and perhaps they are hardly innocent; with a great object before me, with Providence for my guide, and with the power of a constant correspondence with a beloved wife, I have no right to regard myself as solitary or forsaken. But having nobody to talk to will probably swell the size of my journal.

The country improved very much in the course of the morning, and the number of fishing-boats was really extraordinary; most of them had their sails spread between two bamboos, one on each gunwale, as common in the South Seas; and the groupes, both of boats and fishermen, skimming past the beautifully wooded bank, afforded subjects for painting such as I should have delighted, had I possessed the necessary talent, to transfer to paper.

About half-past one, and when we were not far from the stream which diverges from the Pudda, between Pulna and Radanuggur, Mohammed, in excessive carelessness or ignorance, contrived to lose his way, by going directly north, round a large island in the middle of the river, and consequently in a channel leading back again towards Jaffiergunge. We soon found that we had the stream with instead of against us, and asking some fishermen, learned the mistake. We had scarcely, I think, gone a mile wrong, when we attempted to return; but having both wind and stream against

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