much frequented by the apostles in their capacity of fishermen. At the distance of a mile from Tiberias, on the north, there was formerly a town celebrated for the victories of Vefpafian, and of which fome veftiges may yet be feen. It was called Ammaus, which fignifies the Bath, on account of its hot fprings, which are endowed with a medicinal quali. ty. Mount Tabor is diftant from the fea of Tiberias about twelve miles, and is distinguished by different names; but, at prefent, it is called, in the Arabian language, Gibel ElTor. The fituation of it is most delight ful. Rifing amidft the plains of Galilee, it exhibits to the eye a charming variety of prospects. On one fide there are lakes, rivers and a part of the Mediterranean; and, on the other, a chain of little hills, with small valleys, fhaded by natural groves, and enriched by the induftry of the hufbandmen with a number of useful productions. Here you behold an immenfity of plains interfperfed with hamlets, fortreffes, and heaps of ruins; and there the eye delights to wander over the fields of Jezrael, or Mageddon, named by the Arabs Ebn-Aamer, which fignifies the field of the fons of Aamer. A little farther you diftinguifh the mountains of Hermon, Gilboa, Samaria, and Arabia the Stony. In fhort, you ex perience all thofe fenfations which are produced by a mixture and rapid fucceffion of rural, gay, gloomy, and majestic objects. This is the facred fpot which was the scene of the transfiguration. Mount Tabor has a perfect refemblance to a fugar loaf, and is covered with fmall trees from the top to the bottom. Its fummit is inclofed by the remains of ancient walls. Within thefe is a plain of about two miles in circumference, on which, according to every appearance, no buildings. were ever erected. Amongst the ruins of the churches may be diftinguished three very beautiful tabernacles, which formed part of the ancient ' temple erected by St. Helen in memory of the transfiguration. In feveral places there are cisterns destined for the purpofe of collecting the rain water, becaufe there are no fprings on this mountain. Though the plain on the top be very much expofed to the severity of winter, it is often covered with odoriferous herbs even in the middle of that feafon. Great numbers of flocks and herds refort thither daily to feed on the rich paftures which abound in this place. It is no lefs frequented at prefent by multitudes of Oriental Chriftians, without diftinction, whether Catholics or fchifmatics; and the fathers of the Holy Land likewise come hither annually to celebrate the transfiguration. Of the fundamental Principles and Spirit of the Hindoo Religion*. F we abftract our minds from the abuses, and inquire into the spirit of the Hindoo religion, we fhall find that it inculcates the belief in one God only, without beginning and without end; nor can any thing be more fublime than their idea of the Supreme Being. In the dialogues between Krishna and Arjoon, Krishna fays: "I am the creator of all things, and all things proceed from me. Thofe who are endued with spiritual wisdom know this, and worship me." "I am the foul, bodies of all things. which is in the I am the beginning * From "Sketches relating to the History, Religion, Learning, and Manners, of the Hindoos." able, with fubdued paffions, and who are the fame in all things, fhall come unto me. T to ning and the end. I am time; I am all-grafping death; and I am the refurrection. I am the feed of all things in nature, and there is not any thing animate or inanimate without me. "I am the mystic figure Oom*, the Reek, the Sam, and the Vayoor Veds. I am the witness, the comforter, the afylum, the friend. I am generation and diffolution: in me all things are repofited. "The whole universe was spread abroad by me. "The foolish are unacquainted with my fupreme and divine nature. They are of vain hope, of vain endea vours, and void of reason; whilst thofe of true wisdom ferve me in their hearts, undiverted by other gods. "Those who worship other gods, worship me! I am in the facrifice, in the spices, in the invocation, in the fire, and in the victim." Arjoon fays in reply: "Thou art the prime Creator-Eternal God!Thou art the Supreme! By thee the universe was spread abroad! Thou art Vayoo, the god of the winds; Agnee, the god of fire; Varoon, the god of the oceans, &c. "Reverence be unto thee; again and again reverence, O thou, who art all in all! Great is thy power, and great thy glory! Thou art the father of all things; wherefore I bow down, and with my body proftrate on the ground, crave thy mercy. Lord, worthy to be adored! bear with me as a father with a fon; a friend with a friend; a lover with the beloved.” In fpeaking of ferving the Deity, Krishna fays: "Thofe whofe minds are attached my invifible nature, have the great er labour, because an invisible path is difficult to corporeal beings. Place thy heart on me, and penetrate me with thy understanding, and thou fhalt hereafter enter unto me. But if thou fhouldft be unable at once ftedfaftly to fix thy mind on me, endea vour to find me by means of constant practice. "He, my fervant, is dear to me, who is free from enmity; merciful, and exempt from pride and selfishness; who is the fame in pain and pleasure patient of wrongs; contented; and whofe mind is fixed on me alone. "He is my beloved, of whom mankind is not afraid, and who is not afraid of mankind; who is unfolicitous about events; to whom praise and blame are as one; who is of little fpeech; who is pleafed with whatever cometh to pafs; who has no particular home, and is of a fteady mind." In treating of good works, it is faid: "Both the defertion and practice of works, are the means of happiness. But of the two, the practice is to be distinguished above the desertion. "The man, who performing the duties of life, and quitting all intereft in them, placeth them upon Brahm, the Supreme, is not tainted with fin, but remaineth like the leaf of the lo tus unaffected by the waters. "Let not the motive be in the e vent: be not one of those, whose mo tive for action is in the hope of reward. "They who delighting in the welfare of all nature, ferve me in my in- Let not thy life be spent in inaccorruptible, ineffable, and invifible tion; perform thy duty, and abandon form; omnipotent, incomprehenfible, all thoughts of the confequence. The standing on high, fixed, and immove- miferable and unhappy are fo about the Oom is faid to be a mystic word, or emblem, to fignify the Deity, and to be compofed of Sanskrit roots, or letters; the first of which ftands for Creator; the fecond, PreLerver; and third, Deftroyer. It is forbidden to be pronounced, except with extreme re the events of things; but men, who are endued with true wisdom, are unmindful of them." Notwithstanding that the Hindoos are feparated into the Vifhnou Bukht and Sheevah Bukht, and that a variety of fects are to be found over the whole peninfula, the chief articles of their religion are uniform. All believe in Brama, or the Supreme Being; in the immortality of the foul; in a future ftate of rewards and punishments; in the doctrine of the metampfychofis; and all acknowledge the Veds as containing the principles of their laws and religion. Nor ought we to wonder at the fchifms that have arifen in fuch a vaft fpace of time, but rather be furprifed that they have been fo mild in their confequences; efpecially when we reflect on the numbers that arofe among ourselves, and the dreadful effects they produced in a period fo much shorter. Their rules of morality are most benevolent; and hospitality and charity are not only strongly inculcated, but I believe no where more univerfally practifed than amongst the Hindoos. "Hofpitality is commanded to be exercifed even towards an enemy, when he cometh into thine house: the tree doth not withdraw its fhade even from the wood-cutter. «Good men extend their charity unto the vileft animals. The moon doth not withhold her light even from the cottage of the Chandala. (outcast.) "Is this one of us, or is he a ftranger!-Such is the reafoning of the ungenerous: but to thofe, by whom liberality is practifed, the whole world is but as one family." On the Manners and Customs of the Hindoos. From the fame. THE HE Hindoos are naturally cheer ful, and are fond of converfation, of play, and of other amufements.They will fpend almost the whole night in feeing dancing and hearing mufic; yet none dance but the women, whofe profeffion it is, and who devote themelves to the pleasures and amufement of the public. They are nevertheless extremely fober; they eat only twice a day, in the morning and evening. It has been obferved, that none of the four cafts are allowed to tafte any intoxicating liquor, and even thofe who may eat meat do it fparingly, Their food is prepared in earthen pots: inftead of plates and dishes they afe broad leaves, generally of the palm or plantane tree, neatly fewn together with a blade of dry grafs, and which are thrown away and renewed at every meal. Like the inha bitants of molt eaftern countries, they ufe neither forks nor fpoons, but only the fingers of the right hand, and are fcrupulously nice both before and after meals. With them, modes and fashions are unknown; and their dreffes, like their customs, are the fame to-day that I fuppofe they were at the beginning of the Kaly Youg. : you The Hindoos are averfe to many of thofe accomplishments in women that are fo admired by Europeans. They fay, they would be injurious to that fimplicity of manners and decorum of behaviour which are requifite to render them eftimable in their families that, by too much engaging the mind, they would lead their attention away from their children and husband, and give them a difrelish to thofe cares to which they think providence has defigned them: and, as they ftrictly adhere to this opinion, there are few Hindoo women to be found who can either read or write. But But the dancing women, who are the votaries of pleasure, are taught every qualification which they imagine may tend to captivate and entertain the other fex. They compose a feparate clafs, live under the protection of government, and according to their own particular rules. In the code of Gentoo laws and customs, it is faid: "If a dancing girl commit a crime that renders her property liable to confifcation, the magiftrate fhall confifcate all her effects, except her cloths, jewels, and dwelling. In the fame manner, to a foldier fhall be left his implements of war; and to a man exercifing any profeffion, the implements of that profeffion fhall be exempted from the confifcation of the rest of his property." The dancing women eat meat of any kind, except beef. They even drink fpirituous liquors, which perhaps may have led the Greeks who accompanied Alexander to imagine that the other Hindoos did the fame. They appear in a variety of dref fes. Befide thofe that have been already mentioned, they fometimes wear trowfers, like the Perfians: a Jama of wrought muflin, or gold or filver tiffue; the hair plaited and hanging down behind, with fpiral curls on each fide of the face; and to the gold or filver rings on the ankles, in fome of their dances they attach fmall bells of the fame metals. The figures of the Bacchantes, that are to be met with in antique paintings and bas reliefs, may ferve as exact reprefentations of fome of the dancing women in Hindoftan. No religious ceremony, or feftival of any kind, is thought to be performed with requifite order and magnificence, unless accompanied by dancing; and every great temple has a fet of dancers belonging to it.— An abhorrence to the thedding of blood, the offspring of nature, nurfed by habit, and fanctified by religion, the influence of the most re gular of climates, which leffens the wants of life, and renders men averse to labour, perhaps alfo the moderate ufe of animal food, and abftinence from fpirituous liquors, contributed to render the Hindoos the mildest, and probably the moft enervated, inhabi tants of the globe. That they should. poffefs patience and refignation under calamity, is perhaps not much to he wondered at, as the fame causes that tend to damp exertion may produce these qualities; but befide thefe, we have numberless inftances of firmness and active courage that occafion a confiderable degree of furprise. The gentle and generally timid Hindoo, while under the influence of religion, or. his ideas of duty and honour, will not only meet death with indifference, but embrace it by choice. An Englishman, whilst on a hunting party, haftily ftruck a Peon, for improperly letting loofe a grey-hound. The Peon happened to be a Rajah pout, which is the higheft tribe of Hindoo foldiers. On receiving the blow, he started back with an appear ance of horror and amazement, and drew his poignard. But again compofing himself, and looking fteadfastly at his mafter, he faid, "I am your fervant, I have long ate your bread;" and having pronounced this he plunged the dagger into his bofom. In thofe few words he furely pathetically expreffed, "The arm that has been nourished by you, fhall not be employed to take away your life; but in fparing yours. I muit give up my own, as I cannot furvive my difhonour." Some fepoys in the English fervice being condemned to death on account of a mutiny, it was ordered that they fhould be blown off from cannon in front of the army. Some of the offenders being grenadiers, on feeing others, who were led forth to fuffer, they called out, "As we have generally fhewn the way on fervices of danger, why should we be denied that diftinction now?" They had, without making any reply, he gave himfelf a wound with his poignet ard, of which he almost instantly expired. walked towards the guns with firmnefs and compofure; requested to be fpared the indignity of being tied; and, placing their breafts to the muzzles of the cannon, were fhot away. Though feveral had been condemned, the behaviour of thefe men operated fo ftrongly on the feelings of the commanding officer, that the rest were pardoned, : The Rajah of Ongole having been driven from his poffeffions, after fome fruitless attempts, he refolved to make a last effort to recover them. He accordingly entered the province at the head of thofe who had ftill accompanied him, and was joined by many of his fubjects. The English officer who commanded at Ongole for the Nabob of Arcót, marched to oppofe him. They met in the engagement the Rajah was killed by a mufket fhot; and moft of his principal followers having alfo fallen, the reft were broken, and fled. The English commander, being informed that a relation of the Rajah was on the field wounded, went up to him with an interpreter, to offer him his protection and affistance. He found him lying on the ground, and fpeaking to an attendant, of whom he was enquiring whether the Rajah's body had been carried off. Being informed that it 1987198 1 When a Hindoo finds that life is near its end, he will talk of his diffolution with great compofure; and · if near to the Ganges, or any other facred river, will defire to be carried out to expire on its bank; nor will: he do any thing to preserve life, that may be in any way contrary to the rules of his caft or religion. One of the natives, who was employed in an eminent poft at an English fettlement, being prevailed on in a dangerous illness to receive a vifit from an European doctor, it was found that by long abstinence, which in fickness the Hindoos often carry to excefs, the ftomach would no longer retain any thing. The diforder being of a putrid kind, the doctor wished to give the bark in ftrong wine; but the Hindoo politively refufed to take it, notwithstanding many arguments that were ufed; both by the doctor and the governor who accompanied him, and who had confiderable degree of influence over the Hindoo. They promifed that it should remain an inviolable fecret; but he replied with great calmnefs, that he could not conceal it from himself, and a few days afterwards fell a victim to his perfeverance.' Extracts from Burke's Letter to a Member of the National Assembly, in an Anfwer made to his Book. ON NE would think, that after an honeft and neceffary Revolution (if they had a mind that theirs, fhould pafs for fuch) your matters, would have imitated the virtuous policy of thole who have been at the head of revolutions of that glorious character. Burnet tells us, that nothing tended to reconcile the English nation to the government of King William fo much as the care he took to fill the vacant bishoprics with men who had attracted the public etteem by their learning, eloquence,, and piety, and above all, by their known moderation in the ftate. With you, in your purifying Revolution, whom have you chofen to regulate the church? Mr Mirabeau is a fine fpeaker--and a fine writer, and a fine a very fine man;-but really nothing gave more furprize to every * Lieutenant Colonel Fletcher. body |