to aggrandize his kingdom, till at length, by an attack upon one of our allies, he brought upon himself the whole British power in India. The result of this quarrel was the death of Tippoo Saib, and the dismemberment of his empire; to the British fell the dominions bordering on the Carnatic, with the whole of Tippoo's acquisitions on the Malabar coast; while the Nizam, and the Mahrattas on the North, took large portions in the vicinity of their former possessions.

SECTION LXXVII.

OF THE EASTERN PENINSULA OF INDIA.

THE peninsula of India beyond the Bay of

Bengal, called the Eastern peninsula, may be divided into four parts, viz.

1. ON THE NORTH-WEST.

It is about 1500 miles long, and near 1000 miles across at the broadest part, from East to West.

This peninsula was unknown to the ancients, and partly so to the moderns; the former shewed their ignorance of its interior, by giving it a great number of extravagant denominations, while the latter are but lately informed of its customs, divisions, governinent, &c.

1. Of the first division, the chief towns are, Chamdara; Ava, the capital of the king of Ava; and Aracan.

In Aracan were contained seven idols, cast in gold; the city was taken by the king of Ava so late as 1783.

2. Of the south-eastern division, the chief places are, Pegu, Martaban; Siam, very rich and flourish. ing, and the residence of a most despotic king; and Malacca, in possession of the Dutch.

3. The chief towns in this division, are, Cachio, where there is an English factory; and Lanchang, little known.

4. The last division contains Thoano, Cambodia, and Padram; the first is the residence of the king of Cochin-china, who is master of the other two, but is himself tributary to the Chinese emperor.

The kingdom of Ava, or, as it is sometimes called, the Birman empire, is extensive and popu lous, being 1000 miles from North to South, and ́600 broad, including the conquered countries of Pegu and Aracan. The number of inhabitants are supposed to be near seventeen millions.

The

The climate is salubrious, the soil luxuriant, and the country rich.

Its inhabitants are attached to trade, active, inquisitive, but irritable and impatient.

The people of Malacca are in a sad state of degeneracy, owing to the tyranny of the Dutch; although their situation, with respect to China, is excellent, and their language the purest of any spoken in India. On the S. W. of this country, in the Straits of Malacca, lies the island Penang or the Prince of Wales's Island, belonging to the British, of considerable value to the trade in those parts.

SECTION LXXVIII.

OF INDIA IN GENERAL.

No country in the world contains more large and

fine rivers than India. The principal among them are, the Indus, Ganges, Jumna, Dewaher or Gogra, Soane, Gunduck, Burrampooter, Megna, Goomty, and Hoogly; all of them running through that part · called Hindoostan.

The principal rivers that water the Western Peninsula, are, the Gunga, Kistna, Pennar, and Caveri.

The chief mountains are, those of Paropamisus, between India and Persia.

Naugracut, between India and Thibet;

The

The various divisions of Taurus, all along the Northern parts, between India and Tartary;

The Balagat mountains, which run throughout the Western Peninsula;

And several ridges of mountains, which run through all the Eastern Peninsula, from North to South.

In so extensive an empire, it may easily be conceived that the air and climate must differ greatly; the Northern provinces being cool and temperate, while the Southern parts are parched with heat.

Their seasons are usually divided into the hot, the wet, and the cold. During the former, they have scorching hot winds, which are almost insupportable to those who are exposed to them; but people within doors have admirable contrivances to render the air cool, by enclosing that part of the house next the wind with frames, interwoven with a particular sort of grass, which are kept constantly wetted, and the wind passes through them in a very refreshing manner.

At this season there are frequent violent gusts of wind, thunder, lightning, rain, and immense large hail, which seem to burst forth altogether, and form a tremendous appearance. These storms they term North-westers, and they are generally welcome visitors, as they cool the air, and greatly refresh the earth; though sometimes their violence does a great deal of mischief, tearing up trees, and hurling off the roofs of cottages, &c.

On the sea-coast they are usually revived by the sea-breezes,

When

When the wet season sets in, the rain falls in torrents, sometimes for days together, and causes the rivers to swell and overflow large tracts of land, which contributes much to the fertility of the soil. This is generally the most sickly time of the year, both among the natives and Europeans, as it is very sultry between the showers, and the exhalations from stagnant waters are excessive. But from the beginning of October till towards the middle of March, there cannot be a finer climate in the world than that of Hindoostan: the weather is clear, serene, and extremely healthy: the air is often quite cold, and feels frosty, and ice is frequent towards the northern parts, though perhaps generally not more than a quarter of an inch thick; people are glad to wrap themselves up in shawls and warm clothing, shut up their houses, and even to indulge sometimes with fires; and, probably, from the great extremes between the heat and cold, they are almost as sensible of the change as we in England feel during a smart frost.

The Gentoos are a mild, temperate, inoffensive people; yet they make very good soldiers; and are' extremely attached to their officers.

The Mussulmen are quite a different character; they are fiery and turbulent in their dispositions, and often carry their passion for revenge very great lengths; but they are brave, and very tractable where they attach themselves.

Their complexions are bordering upon black; long black hair, and regular good features.

Most

of