Landing at Madras. Sept. is attended by a score of fellows; who, at each 1803. shop, cheat, wrangle, and at length fight about the profits. Every arrival from Europe is a fresh harvest for blacky, which he takes good care to gather in; and every one, as soon as he touches terrafirma, is a griffin*, and consequently fair game. The scenes of contention for employment, among those fellows, are sometimes highly ludicrous. The mixture of fury and fear depicted in their countenances and gestures; their menacing attitudes; and, above all, the torrents of unintelligible jargon with which they bespatter each other, would excite the risibility of a stoic. It is, however, indispensably necessary to have a dubash, who transacts all business in the Bazars, and who takes special care that no person but himself shall cheat you; which to be sure is only a negative kind of advantage, yet" of two evils, it is better to choose the least.' We were able to make but a few short excursions round the environs of the town this time; but were very much pleased with the appearance of the garden-houses on the mount road: above all, with the gay assemblage of our fair countrywomen, who every evening sport their elegant figures and brilliant equipages, while taking the air on this public promenade. We went, through curiosity, to the Nabob's palace, but were denied admittance; there being an order by the Governor in council, that no European shall attempt to pass into the said palace, on pain of being sent * A term applied to all those who have been but a short time in the country, Nabob of Arcot. 1803. to Europe. This punishment (if it may be call Sept, ed one) we were told was actually inflicted on a gentleman who had the rashness to disobey the order; when some wag wrote in large characters on the palace gate-" The Way to Europe." It seems the present Nabob has not much trouble in governing his dominions; the East India Company, out of pure good nature, having taken the guidance entirely on themselves: and to show their liberality and generosity still farther, have allowed him a very comfortable salary, to live on in his own castle, where he has even guards to attend upon him. Though his power is thus circumscribed, he is still paid exterior marks of respect; such as hoisting the red flag, and saluting him at the fort, when he comes to pay any formal visit. Many stories are told of the ridiculous pride of some of the former Nabobs; such as causing a herald to proclaim, every day after dinner, that his Highness had dined; and that all other princes and potentates in the world, might now dine as soon as they pleased! In most parts of India, but at Madras particularly, you never can stir out, unless in a palankeen, or huggy; it being mostly a red sandy ground about this place, the reflection of the sun is dreadful, and coups de soleil are very frequently got, by walking up from the beach to the Black-town. The palaukeen is a very pleasant conveyance; and with eight bearers, which are generally sufficient, will cost about rupees, or 6s. 6d. per day. Hodges' Description of Madras. SKETCH OF MADRAS. (From Hodges' Travels.) 1803. "THE approach to Madras from the sea offers to the eye an appearance similar to what we Sept. may conceive of a Grecian city in the days of Alexander. The clear, blue, and cloudless sky, the polished white buildings, the bright sandy beach, and the dark green sea, present a combination totally new to the eye of an Englishman just arrived from London, who, accustomed to the sight of rolling masses of clouds floating in a damp atmosphere, cannot but contemplate the difference with delight; and the eye being thus gratified, the mind soon assumes a tranquil and gay habit, analogous to the pleasing objects with which it is surrounded. "Some time before the ship arrives at her anchoring ground, she is hailed by the boats of the country, filled with people of business, who come in crowds on board. This is the moment in which an European feels the great distinction between Asia and his own country. The rustling of fine linen, and the general hum of unusual conversation, present to his mind, for a moment, the idea of an assemblage of females. When he ascends upon the deck, he is struck with the long muslin dresses, and black faces, adorned with very large gold ear-rings and white turbans. "The first salutation he receives from these strangers is, by bending their bodies very low, touching the deck with the back of the hand, and the forehead three times. The natives first seen in India by the European voyager, are Hindoos, the original inhabitants of the penin ། Strangers landing. 1803. sula. In this part of India they are delicately Sept. framed; their hands, in particular, are more like those of tender females, and do not appear to be what is considered a proper proportion to the rest of the person, which is usually above the middle size. Correspondent to this delicacy of appearance are their manners-mild, tranquil, and sedulously attentive. In this last respect they are indeed remarkable, as they never interrupt any person who is speaking, but wait patiently till he has concluded; and then answer with the most perfect respect and composure. "From the ship, a stranger is conveyed on shore in a boat of the country, called a Massulah boat; a work of curious construction, and well calculated to elude the violent shocks of the surf, which breaks here with great violence: they are formed without a keel, flat-bottomed, with the sides raised high, and sewed together with the fibres of the cocoa-nut tree, and caulk ed with the same material. They are remarkably light, and are managed with great dexterity by the natives; they are usually attended by two catamarans (rafts), paddled by one man each; the intention of which is, that, should the boat be overset by the violence of the surf, the persons in it may be preserved. "The boat is driven, as the sailors say, "high and dry;" and the passengers are landed on a fine sandy beach, and immediately enter the fort of Madras. The appearance of the natives is exceedingly varied some are wholly naked, and others so clothed, that nothing but the face and neck can be discovered. Besides this, the European is struck with many other objects, Black-town. such as women carried on men's shoulders on 1803. palankeens, and men riding on horseback clothed Sept. in fine linen dresses like women; which, with the very different face of the country from any thing he had ever seen, or conceived of, excite the strongest emotions of surprise. "There is a second city called the Black-town, separated from the fort, the breadth of a proper esplanade only; and although near four miles in circuit, fortified in such a manner as to prevent a surprise by the enemy's horse; an evil to which every town in the Carnatic is subject, from the dryness and evenness of the country. "Madras was settled by the English about the year 1640. It was taken by the French in 1746, and restored by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The fort was planned by Mr. Robins, the real author of Anson's voyage, and is perhaps one of the best fortresses in the possession of the British nation. Madras, in common with all the European settlements on this coast, has no port for shipping, the coast forming nearly a straight. line; and it is incommoded also with a high and dangerous surf." N. latitude 13° 4' |