And all that seventy years can show, Alas! if we murmur at things like these, 27. The Buffalo. Entirely; altogether. Distinct'; different. Insurmount'able; not to be overcome, insuperable. Antip'athy; aversion, dislike. Extinct'; out of existence. Ungraceful; unseemly, inelegant. As'pect; appearance. Clum'sy; unwieldy, heavy. Des'titute; devoid. Valuable; precious. Pa'tient; submissive. Doc'ile ; teachable. Fatigues'; toils. Diver'sified; varied. Considerably; much, in a great degree. THE buffalo is an animal of the cow kind, in form nearly resembling the common ox; a native of most parts of the torrid zone, and almost of all the warmer climates. It is found wild in many parts of India, and bred up tame in most of the tropical countries, where it is used by the natives in works of husbandry, being an animal of great strength. It is said that two of them yoked together will draw more than four horses. The butter and cheese, in those countries, is made mostly from the milk of the female. The female goes twelve months with young, and produces but one at a time. The flesh of this animal is very indifferent food, both the smell and taste being disagreeable; and the veal, or flesh of the young, is little superior to the beef. Though this animal so nearly resembles the cow kind in its external form, yet it is entirely of a distinct species, and an insurmountable antipathy is found to subsist between these two creatures, so that if there were but one of each species in the universe it is probable both kinds would soon be extinct for the cow can never be brought to breed with the buffalo, though it will with the bison; to which animal it has a more distant resemblance. The buffalo is a more ungraceful figure than the cow; its aspect is more wild; its figure more clumsy and awkward; it carries its head nearer the ground; its body is shorter and thicker; its legs higher and not fleshy; its head is less than that of the cow, and its horns compressed, one side being sharp; its skin also is harder, thicker, blacker, and more destitute of hair: it is, however, the most valuable part of the creature. In a wild state these animals are very fierce, sometimes goring travellers to death, and afterwards trampling upon them with their feet; but when tamed and in a domestic state, they are very patient and docile, and undergo great fatigues in domestic life. There are several species of the buffalo, which however is only the same animal diversified by the differences of food and climate, though some of these species are not bigger than a calf, while others are considerably larger than an English ox.-Dict. of Nat. Hist. E The Minstrel's Matin Song. Soldier, wake-the day is peeping, and jack, Arm and up--the morning beam Poor hire repays the rustic's pain ; 28. Bombay Bazaar. Brilliantly; brightly, splendidly. Strolling; sauntering, rambling. Distinct'ly; plainly, clearly. Exam'ining; inspecting, viewing. Dispu'ting; arguing. Value; worth. Urging; pressing. Polished; burnished. Glit'tering; sparkling. Inces'sant; unceasing, continual. Artificer; artisan, workman. Vicin'ity; neighbourhood. Festoons'; garlands. Envi'roned; surrounded. Lux'uries; delicacies, niceties. Display'ed; shewn, exhibited. It is a street about half a mile long, with shops on each side throughout its whole extent. These are brilliantly lighted up at night, and one, in strolling along, may observe distinctly every thing that goes on in them. He will here see a range of cloth-shops, full of native women examining the goods, disputing about their value, and urging the seller to lower his price. Then his attention will be drawn to the shed of a brass-manufacturer, where highly polished jars of all sizes stand glittering in rows, and where the incessant hammering of the artificers drowns the voices of the crowd in their vicinity. On advancing a little farther he will see a confectioner's shop hung with festoons of dried fruits and sweetmeats, and environed by crowds of children longing for the luxuries that are displayed before them. The next shed will be that of a vegetable merchant, who offers for sale the various edible productions of the east, from the pine-apple down to the common yam: opposite him, perhaps, is the office of a shroff, or native banker, who sits at a table covered with gold, silver and copper coins, and changes money at a small per centage. His scales and weights stand beside him, and he subjects to their test every piece of metal that is pre sented to him for negotiation. A dealer in grain next attracts the attention; the back part of his shop is crowded with bags of rice, grain, maize, &c. and in front, samples of the different articles are exhibited in large baskets, from which he measures out the quantities required by his customers. A little way off will be a barber's shop full of people, and resounding with their voices and merriment. Its bustling possessor talks with volubility, and the pleased and attentive countenances of his auditors applaud it. Meanwhile the street is crowded with men, women, and children, of different castes and complexions, and with donkies, oxen, and Paria dogs, the noise of whose united voices is deafening and incessant. Sometimes a Parsee drives furiously through the bazaar in a gig, and disturbs the loitering throng, and makes it open its ranks with sudden haste and alarm; or a European in a palanquin, will force his way amidst the motley assemblage. The tumult of the whole scene not unfrequently receives some addition from the meeting and intermingling of two herds of bullocks, carrying bells upon their necks, and groaning under the blows inflicted by their irritated drivers and at this crisis, perhaps, a marriage procession passes down the bazaar, accompanied by hosts of people bearing torches, and by a party of native musicians singing, and beating large drums and blowing horns. Things now reach an extremity which is insupportable to a European, and he must immediately take flight if he wishes to retain his senses, and to preserve his hearing. Howison's Foreign Scenes. : |