k and silver thread, are open at the heels, and curled up at the toes; stockings are very seldom worn. Many Hindoos in the service of Europeans, to please their masters, wear the Musulman dress; put on a turban, and garments like a jacket and petticoat, or loose pantaloons. The poor have only a shred of cloth to cover their loins. The dress of the women differs from that of the men, in that they wear only one long garment, which, wrapped. round the loins, comes over the shoulders, and occasionally over the head as a hood. In Bengal, a woman's garment is ten cubits long and two broad; in the southern parts of India, it is much longer: very few wear shoes. Ornaments are eagerly sought after, even by the poorest women, which they fix in their hair, on the forehead, in the ears, in the nose, round the arms, wrists, ancles, &c. They paint their finger-nails, and round the bottoms of their feet, red, and their eye-lashes black; their teeth are made red with eating pană.' the lappet of their gown; and this was not a constant cover, but only occa sional, to avoid the rain, or sun, or other accidental inconveniencies: hence it is, that we see none of the old statues with any on their heads." It is remarkable, to what excellent uses the toes are applied in India. In England, it is hard to say whether they are of any use whatsoever. A man could certainly walk and ride without them; and these are the principal purposes to which the feet are applied in Europe. But here the toes are second-hand fingers: they are called the" feet fingers" in Bengalee. In his own house, a Hindoo makes use of them to fasten the clog to his feet by means of a button which slips between the two middle toes. The taylor, if he does not thread his needle, certainly twists his thread with them: the cook holds his knife with his toes while he cuts fish, vegetables, &c.; the joiner, the wearer, &c. could not do without them, and almost every native has twenty different uses for the toes. It is true, I have heard of a maimed sailor in England writing with his toes, which is rather more than what I have seen done in this country; but yet, this is only another proof of what might be done, even with the toes, if necessity should arise, to make us set our toes as well as our wits to work. ! Panŭ, which is chewed like tobacco, consists of the leaf of the piper with a people more robust and inde general features are the same. The Hindoos are gen mon people very no are lively, inquisiti appear to be capa tating most of the greatest our in company, the politest nations. fattery and of fulsome his is given and received stom than the language of riways understood to lie on without deceiving any body. sence of his spiritual guide, the mself, and, laying hold of his feet, says, 'You are my saviour;'-to a 6 You are my father and mother;'he wishes to praise, 'You are Religion O Sir, your fame is gone all over the from country to country.' As a Benefacequal to Kărnă." You are equal to Yoodhist biru in your regard to truth.' 'You have overcome "You shew due respect to all.' 'You and origina terns an whole all your passions.' and are a sea of excellent qualities.' 'You are devoted to the service of your guardian deity.' You are the father and mother of bramhuns, cows, and women.' There are five kinds of obeisance among the Hindoos, viz. 1. ŭstangŭ, in which the person prostrates himself, and makes eight parts of his body, viz. his knees, hands, temples, nose, and chin, touch the ground; 2 punchangă, in which the person makes his forehead, temples, and hands touch the ground; 3. dundavŭtů, simple prostration, in which the person causes his forehead to meet the betel, the fruit of the ereca fausel, lime made of shells, and (at pleasure) of a number of spices. Karnă, the brother of Yoodhist'hirŭ, was very famous for his liberality. m King Yoodhist hiru is on all occasions mentioned as a person the most tenacious of truth of any Hindoo that ever lived, and yet he was dragged to hell for lying. ground; 4. numŭskarů, in which he, bringing his joined hands open up to his forehead, causes his two thumbs to touch his forehead several times; 5. ŭbhivadŭnů, in which the person raises his right hand (never his left) to or towards the forehead, gently bending the head. This last is the common form. Should a bramhun, the servant of a king, be sitting with his master, a shōōdră, coming in would give the common sulam, with one hand, to the monarch, and with his joined hands would make the reverential numuskară to the bramhŭn. The Bengalee women, if of equal rank, bow to each other, by raising their joined hands to the head. A woman of inferior rank bows to a superior, and rubs the dust of her feet on her forehead, but the superior does not return the bow. In their descriptions, the Hindoos indulge in the most extravagant hyberbole. A splendid palace they call the heaven of Vishnoo;a heavy rain, the deluge; -a quarrel, the bloody contest between the Pandŭvus and the sons of Dhritŭrashtrů, in which eighteen ŭkshouhinees" were slaughtered ;-a crowd is always swelled to myriads. Respecting a water-spout, the Hindoos say, the elephants of the god Indră are drinking;-the rainbow they call Ramu's bow;-a whirlwind is caused by aerial beings called pishachus ;-thunder is occasioned by Indru's hurling his thunderbolts at the giants, who come to drink water from the clouds, and the lightning arises from the sparks of these thunderbolts. Some add, that the ring round the moon arises from the splendour of the planets or gods, who sit there as the counsellors of Chundru (the moon.) In directing their letters, as well as in the compliments • One ŭkshouhinee comprises 109,350 foot, 65,610 horses, 21,870 chąriots, and 21,870 elephants. In their forms of address, and behaviour in company, the Hindoos must be ranked amongst the politest nations. It is true, there is a mixture of flattery and of fulsome panegyric in their address, but this is given and received rather as the requirement of custom than the language of the heart. It is a polish always understood to lie on the surface; it pleases without deceiving any body. When he enters the presence of his spiritual guide, the Hindoo prostrates himself, and, laying hold of his feet, looks up to him, and says, ' You are my saviour;'-to a benefactor, he says, You are my father and mother;'to a man whom he wishes to praise, You are Religion incarnate; or, O Sir, your fame is gone all over the country; yes, from country to country.' As a Benefactor, you are equal to Kărnă." You are equal to Yoodhist❜hirum in your regard to truth.'You have overcome all your passions.' You shew due respect to all.' 'You are a sea of excellent qualities. You are devoted to the You are the father 6 service of your guardian deity.' There are five kinds of obeisance among the Hindoos, viz. 1. ŭstangŭ, in which the person prostrates himself, and makes eight parts of his body, viz. his knees, hands, temples, nose, and chin, touch the ground; 2 punchangů, in which the person makes his forehead, temples, and hands touch the ground; 3. dundavŭtů, simple prostration, in which the person causes his forehead to meet the betel, the fruit of the ereca fausel, lime made of shells, and (at pleasure) of a number of spices. Karnă, the brother of Yoodhist'hirŭ, was very famous for his liberality. m King Yoodhist' hiru is on all occasions mentioned as a person the most tenacious of truth of any Hindoo that ever lived, and yet he was dragged to hell for lying. ground; 4. numǎskară, in which he, bringing his joined hands open up to his forehead, causes his two thumbs to touch his forehead several times; 5. ŭbhivadŭnů, in which the person raises his right hand (never his left) to or towards the forehead, gently bending the head. This last is the common form. Should a bramhun, the servant of a king, be sitting with his master, a shōōdră, coming in would give the common sulam, with one hand, to the monarch, and with his joined hands would make the reverential numuskară to the bramhun. The Bengalee women, if of equal rank, bow to each other, by raising their joined hands to the head. A woman of inferior rank bows to a superior, and rubs the dust of her feet on her forehead, but the superior does not return the bow. In their descriptions, the Hindoos indulge in the most extravagant hyberbole. A splendid palace they call the heaven of Vishnoo; a heavy rain, the deluge;-a quarrel, the bloody contest between the Panduvus and the sons of Dhritŭrashtrů, in which eighteen ŭkshouhinees" were slaughtered ;-a crowd is always swelled to myriads. Respecting a water-spout, the Hindoos say, the elephants of the god Indră are drinking;-the rainbow they call Ramu's bow;-a whirlwind is caused by aerial beings called pishachus ;-thunder is occasioned by Indru's hurling his thunderbolts at the giants, who come to drink water from the clouds, and the lightning arises from the sparks of these thunderbolts. Some add, that the ring round the moon arises from the splendour of the planets or gods, who sit there as the counsellors of Chundră (the moon.) In directing their letters, as well as in the compliments One ükshouhinee comprises 109,350 foot, 65,610 horses, 21,870 chariots, and 21,870 elephants. |