The Binder is desired to place this page after the Contents and before page 1 of Vol. III. THE whole of the present Edition was printed before it came to my knowledge, that the passage in Vol. iii. p. 244, relating to the lady, who is there described as having gone out to India under the patronage of the Lancasterian School Society, had been considered by the British and Foreign School Society as making three serious charges against them. I did not know that the Societies were identified: nor did I know personally any of the facts of the case; so that I can only call the attention of the reader of these volumes to the assurance of the British and Foreign School Society, that the charges involved in the passage in question do not apply to them, and add my regret if any misrepresentation of any one should, however unintentionally, have been made. 30th May, 1828. A. H. NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY, &c. CHAPTER XXV. BARODA TO BOMBAY. Entrance into Baroda-Namdar Khán-Cantonment-Church-Character of the Guicwar-Consecration of the Church-Visit to the Guicwar-Visits from Natives-Guicwar returns the Visit-Departure from Baroda-Crossing the Mhye-Kholees-Swaamee Narain-Hot Winds-Interview with Swaamee Narain-Arrival at Kairah-Insalubrity of Climate-Jain Temple-Departure from Kairah-Difficulty in crossing the Mhye-Broach-Banyan-tree in an Island on the Nerbudda-Surat-Embarkation-Arrival at Bombay. MARCH 19.-From Jerrdda to Baroda is thirteen miles over a bare and open country, the roads much cut up. Expecting to meet "great men” we made our march in regular order, the nagari beating and Maharatta standard flying before us, followed by my chobdars and a chobdar of the Resident's, who gave the word for marching in a sort of shrill cry," Chulo Maharatta!" Forward Maharattas! The vakeels and the dewan followed with the chief part of my escort. After marching about eight miles, we were met by a body of horse in Persian dresses, under a young officer splendidly mounted on a dapple-grey Arab horse, with the most showy accoutrements which I had seen in India, and a shield of rhinoceros-hide as transparent as horn, and ornamented with four silver bosses. He announced himself as sent by the Resident to enquire after my health, and advanced in a very graceful manner to embrace me. Foreseeing that I should probably have these sort of ceremonies, I had chosen for the day my little Barreah horse, to whom my servants had given the name of Rawul, who having received his breeding at a native court, understood these ceremonies better, and endured them more patiently than either Cabul or Nedjeed would have done. After this ceremony, and a little more conversation with the dewan, the young officer, who was evidently a dandy of the first brilliancy in his own way, began to ride before me, shewing off his horse and horsemanship in all the usual manége of the East, curvetting, wheeling, galloping forwards, and stopping short. He did all this extremely well, but some of his followers in imitating him were not so skilful or so fortunate, and one of them got a pretty rude fall in crossing some of the deep ruts with which the road was intersected. This gave me a good excuse for desiring them to ride gently, a measure desireable on more accounts than one, since the dust was almost intolerable. About a mile further Mr. Williams met us, with several other gentlemen, and an escort of regular troopers, one of whom carried an unionjack before him, a custom which is common, he told me, in Guzerât and the Deckan, though not practised, as far as I have seen, in other parts of India. He told me that "his highness" had just left his palace as he passed the gate of the town, and that we should find him without the gates under some trees. We therefore quickened our pace as much as was compatible with the comfort of our attendants on foot, and with the movements of the suwarree elephant, who was, I found, considered as an essential part of the show, and was directed to follow me closely, though with an empty howdah. On the spot designated we found a numerous body of cavalry, camels, whose riders had each a large bundle of rockets, and infantry armed with matchlocks and swords, of whom a large proportion were Arabs. a long lane, at the end of which were seen several elephants, on one of which, equipped with more than usual splendour, I was told was the Maharaja. The whole show greatly exceeded my expectations, and surpassed any thing of the kind which I had seen, particularly as being all Asiatic, without any of the European mixture visible in the ceremonies of the court of Lucknow. We here dismounted and advanced up the lane on foot, when different successive parties of the principal persons of the city advanced to meet us, beginning with a young man whom Mr. Williams introduced to me as secretary to the Raja and son of the Brahmin vakeel Shastree, whom the Peishwa, Bajee Rao, murdered These troops made |