gan to favour our family. Aliverdi to give me a friend în general God Khan was appointed governor of Patna, where my father accompanied him, and where our family have lived to this day in affluence, dignity, and splendour: for the houses we bought, and the lands we acquired by purchase, gift or otherwise, during the administration of Aliverdi are, to this day, in our possession. In the year 1188, I was induced, unfortunately, to be come security, to a considerable amount, for a zemindar, who already owed me the highest obligations, and from whom I little expected such a return, and so much perfidy as I met with. In consequence of this misconduct, I was called upon by the English govern ment, to pay 60,000 rupees on his account, which was the sum for which I had become bound. This demand coming on me unexpectedly, I was obliged to sell my jewels and plate, to the amount of 31,000 rupees, and to make up the balance by borrowing it from the banker. In this way I saved myself from the severity with which I should have been treated by the government to whom the money was due, and from the still more unfeeling rigor of the aumils, muttsudies, and other revenue officers, who seemed to wait with a malicious eye for the signal from government to seize my whole property. I was obliged to put into the banker's hands, as a security for the money I had borrowed, the portion of land I possessed, and to endeavour to procure subsistence by some other means. But I was unable to get any employment, notwithstanding all the interest, and all the enquiries which my friends made in my behalf. At last it pleased fortune dard a man of merit so conspicuous as to need no praise, and whose kindness and generosity to me, as well as to many of my countrymen, entitle him to my lasting gratitude. Such a character is not often met with among the English in Hindostan. He was, about this time, appointed resident at Chunarghur; soon after which, he came to Azimabad, (Patna) where he made some stay. Being an old acquaintance, I went to see him. He had the kindness to enquire about my affairs, and he heard, with cordial concern, the calamity which had befallen them. "I am truly sorry," said he, "to hear what has happened; but as I see no likelihood of your getting employment here, you had better come along with me, and we shall live upon what we can get." I cheerfully accepted of the proposal, looking upon it, as one of the secret resources which Providence had kept in store for me. I accordingly got myself ready, and accompanied him to Chunar. But, on general Goddard's arrival there, he found that the situation to which he was appointed, was, in point of emolument, much below what he had reason to expect, and, indeed, scarcely sufficient to defray his necessary expences. This circumstance disabled him from assisting me as he wished; but he committed to my care, whatever concerned the revenue matters of that town. He allotted also, for my accommodation, an excellent house, which had been fitted up for himself; and sent his own boats to bring my wife and family. When they arrived, he gave them a pension of 300 rupees a month. After behaving to me in this very handsome manner manner, it was natural in him to receive my visits with that particular distinction which he shewed me." from whose friendship he expected much, he totally disapproved of the measure. On the failure of this scheme, and the appointment of "I have already observed, that general Goddard to join the army general Goddart's income, at Chu- in the Deccan, all connexion benar, was much below his expendi- tween him and our author was ture in consequence of this, he broken off. At a more early penow determined to relinquish his si- riod of his life, he had been emtuation, and get permission to enter ployed in the courts of Aliverdi into the service of Azof ud Dowlah, Khan, and that of his nephews, in having heard that that prince, dis- consequential situations; and, after satisfied with his old troops, had having received various disappointdismissed them, and intended to raise ments and reverses of fortune, he a new army, the discipline of which settled, at last, at Patna, where, on he wished to commit to the charge a sum of money left by his friends, of an English officer of rank. My he was enabled to support his fafriend conceived, that such an em- mily comfortably. It was there, ployment would be more suitable to also, that, during a period of quiet his turn of mind, than the station and retirement, he tells us he comhe held at Chunar; and that it posed the Seir Mutakhareen. In would likewise prove more profita- the same city, in the earlier part of ble, both to himself and me. But his life, he witnessed the massacre as he had no acquaintance with of the English, a cruelty which he Mr. Bristow, who was then minis- reprobated, but which he could not ter at Lucknow, he did not think it prevent. He conferred, however, proper to make any personal appli- some obligations on Mr. Fullarton, cation to him on the subject. On the only person who escaped from his asking my opinion of the matter, that bloody catastrophe. I proposed that he should give me a letter to another Englishman, a friend of Mr. Bristow's, to whom, by that means, I should find a ready introduction; and thereby, be able to sound him in regard to the object in view, without mentioning his name. Of this he approved; and, giving to me the letter to the gen tleman at Lucknow, he wished me a successful journey." After, however, obtaining the consent of Mr. Bristow to this measure, all the views of the general and Golam were defeated, by the appointment of Mr. Middleton, as resident, in the room of Mr. Bristow. Though this was an intimate acquaintance of the general, The military and civil transactions of his time, which occupy the most considerable part of these volumes, have not precluded the au thor inserting large biographical anecdotes, which impart greater va riety and interest to his work. He has spoken frequently of the cha. racter of authors, and discussed the merits of their writings; in this, however, his candour and benevolence of mind appear to far greater advantage than his literary attainments. From the praises which he bestows on the contemptible reve. ries of fanatics, we can draw no fa. vourable opinion of Mogul litera. ture at this period; nor does it ap pear, that in any æra of the empire, they they ever rose above the humblest mediocrity. When travelling in pursuit of business, he frequently stepped aside, to visit what he terms the abodes of learned men; and as often as he speaks of character, it is generally from personal observation and acquaintance. In his journey from Chunar to Lucknow, mentioned above, he went by way of Juanpore, and stopped there for some days; because, to use his own words," he understood it was become the residence of the illustrious and venerable Seid Mahmed Askhessy," of whom he had heard so much." I sent to desire leave to pay him a respectful visit. Being admitted to his presence, I spent two hours with him. His conversation delighted me even beyond what I expected; it was replete with the many excellencies for which he was celebrated; and I took my leave of him, fully satisfied, that fame, in her encomiums, had fallen short of what I had seen and heard. To this day I remember his venerable aspect, and enchanting conversation; and they have made such an impression on my mind, that I must suspend the narrative of my own actions, to give the reader a glimpse of the talents and virtues which adorned that distinguished man. "He was of a family of Seids, that ranked for many ages amongst the most respectable of that sect, in the city of Juanpore." This Seid, of virtuous disposition and fine genius, wrote a book of practical morality, all the rules of which he extracted from his own practice; so that this book was a commentary on his life. Very different this from the generality of moralists, whose principles and practice are completely at variance; who preach up the utility of moral conduct, yet lead a life of sin. "His speech was such, that it seemed to flow from the fountain of wisdom; and his advices and counsels were so many remedies against sickness and sorrow of heart! "He possessed a very extensive knowledge, graced with so much. modesty, that he instructed all who conversed with him, without making them feel their own inferiority. He lived upon a small income, without a wish to increase it. "It is true, he was not regularly initiated in the sciences; but the richness of his mind, and the strength of his judgment, amply supplied that want. By the force of his own genius, he had become a repository of all the arts and sciences, practical as well as abstract. No wonder, then, that his house was resorted to by all the learned persons of that city and neighbourhood, and by numbers who travelled thither from distant countries, being learned themselves, or possessing a love of knowledge. He "The natural turn of his mind was to candour and modesty; so that he was as forward to acknowledge the merit of others, as he was studious to conceal his own. gave his time to reading lectures, which is the noblest of all occupations--the noblest and most pleasing thing of all being to bring to light the treasures of hidden knowledge. Whenever any one, in his presence, introduced a discourse in dispraise of a man's character, either directly or indirectly, he had too much politeness to stop and reprimand him, but he would, with great address, and peculiar felicity, turn turn the discourse to another sub, ject, without giving the speaker the smallest offence. This venerable man died at the age of seventy." In this strain does this amiable writer criticise his contemporary authors; men far inferior to himself, either in judgment, knowledge of the world, or even literature. Perhaps it may be owing to this candour, and mildness of disposi tion, that he has treated some parts of the misconduct of the English, as magistrates, with so lenient a hand. He deems their conduct meritorious, upon the whole, and their government advantageous; though the Mahommedans of rank, whom it has displaced from all the more lucrative official situations, are, perhaps, the only class of men whose circumstances it has injured. One disadvantage arising from our situation in India, he has seen and laments, which arises from the temporary residence of individuals in the country, and the proportionably small interest they can feel in its welfare.Men, he observes, who leave their native country with the sole view of acquiring an independency, and then to return to it, can have little inducement to confer upon their temporary residence any permanent improvements. The meritorious business of planting topes, digging wells, making roads, and various employments suitable for the wealthy part of the community, individuals will seldom undertake in a country which they hope soon to leave. As the Europeans, according to our system, have not been allowed to colonize in India, there can be no doubt of the justice of Golam Hossein's remarks on this particular.Of injustice and corruption, as judges, he entirely acquits our countrymen; and of cruelty and oppression, as rulers, he brings not the slightest imputation: from his inti mate acquaintance with this subject, and his bias, if he felt any, being wholly against us, we may applaud our countrymen, for having obtained this honourable testimony of their character. From want of knowledge in the language, which frequently has happened to junior servants, he does accuse them sometimes of suffering themselves to be imposed upon by their banyans and sircars; nor does he conceal that injustice is sometimes committed through their interference. Persian writings and books are not committed to the press, and disseminated by publication, as in Europe. This author's manuscripts, for many years, were handed about privately among the natives: he could, therefore, have no fear of giving offence to the English, by what he brought forward. This is, indeed, apparent, from many strictures he has written abundantly severe; nor does there seem any intention to please, by flattery, in a work that was never submitted to the perusal of the English: the praises of general Goddard, and of many other individuals to be found in these volumes, are no exception to this remark, since they are evidently the effusions of sincerity and gratitude; and some of them, as that of Mr. Fullarton, were written long after the parties concerned had left the country.Without having any knowledge of civil liberty in the abstract, this author possessed the fullest enjoyment of it; and, from this circumstance, his testimony has become of so great importance. Customs Customs and Manners of the Tartar THE THE Tartar inhabitants of the Crimea may be divided into three classes. The first includes the Nagays, of whom I have spoken in the preceding volume of these travels, pp. 531, and following; as also those Nagays, who, being a remnant of the Tartars of the Kuban, were taken prisoners in the Turkish fort of Anape, and, to the number of 4,500, carried into the Crimea, where they were dispersed among the nobility for their maintenance; but afterwards, by order of the court, they were considered as subjects, and still dwell in their own permanent villages, having acquired opulence by rearing of cattle and cultivating lands, from which they are enabled to pay high rents to their landlords. All these Nagays are, as their features evince, the unmixed descendants of the Mongolian tribe, who formed the bulk of the army of Tshingis-khan, which invaded Russia and the Crimea. The second class consists of those Tartars represented in plate 20, who inhabit the heaths or steppes as far as the mountains, especially on the north side; and who, in the district of Perekop, where they are still unmixed, retain many traces of the Mongolian countenance, with a thinly scattered beard: they devote themselves to the rearing of cattle to a greater extent than the mountaineers, but are, at the same time, husbandmen, though they pay no attention to gardening. In situations destitute of stone, they build, like the inhabitants of Bucharia, with unbaked bricks of clay, and make use of dried dung for fuel, of which they prepare large quantities, and pile it up in the same manner as turf, to serve them during the winter. Nearer to the mountains, these Tartars, as well as the nobles, are more intermixed with the Turkish race, and exhibit few of the Kalmuk-Mongolian features: this observation also applies to the Cri mean nobility, in whom those peculiarities are almost entirely obliterated. To the third class belong the inhabitants of the southern vallies, bounded by the mountains; a mixed race, which seems to have originated from the remnants of various na tions, crowded together in these regions at the conquest of the Crimea, by the armies of the Mongolian leaders; and which, in part, (as has already been stated) display a very singular countenance, with a stronger beard, but lighter hair; the other Tartars not considering them as true descendants of their race, but giving them the contemptuous name of Tat*. They are also, by their costume, remarkably distinguished from the common Tartars of the heaths, though the dress and veils of the women are alike. Their houses, or huts, are partly formed under ground, be ing generally constructed against the steep precipices of mountains, one half excavated from the earth or rock, and only the front raised with rough stones, having at the same time a flat roof covered with earth. There are among them skilful vinedressers and gardeners, but they are too idle to undertake new plantations, availing themselves only of those left by their predecessors, especially From the Turkish word Mur-tat, which signifies a renegado. |