ed by religious distinctions, and that the Schools shall be those, where the Scriptures without note or comment, oral or written, shall be read, but all catechisms and books of religious controversy excluded," agreeably to their 3d rule, "that the leading principle, by which the Society shall be guided, is to afford the same facilities for education to all classes of professing Christians, without any attempt to interfere with the peculiar religious opinions of any," or their recommendation of separate "particular religious instruction out of school hours;"-and the Free Schools' rule, that "the Schools of the Society are open to children of every religious denomination, and when Protestant children or any other, not Catholic, shall attend any of the Schools under the management of the Education Committee, &c. no Catholic Teacher or Visitor, shall under any pretext interfere with their peculiar religious principles or instruction:-Upon the same principle no Protestant Teacher or Visitor shall interfere with the particular religious instruction of the Catholic children."

Is not the principle precisely the same, being a non-interference during school time with the children, as to the principles of their parents' or their own religious denomination; though, that any Roman Catholic, who thinks, that out of his Church there is no salvation, will act honestly on this principle, is to me inconceivable. How can this Society, whose object professes to be "to bring into more extensive operation that system of Christian and useful edution, which embraces doctrinal instruction and daily inculcates moral and social duties;" (see page 12,) " or which combines particular religious instruction with suitable literary knowledge," (see page 6,) oppose the Kildare-place Society, which after requiring that the "sacred Scriptures" on which all agree, “shall be read during school hours," recommends that all the children be separately given particular religious instruction, either before or after school hours, and provides-that its schools shall be those "in which the morals of the pupils and instructors shall be anxiously attended to, where habits of decency and cleanliness shall be considered indispensable, where reading, writing and arithmetic shall be taught in a cheap and expeditious manner, and in which good order and regular discipline shall be duly enforced."

Why should the Free Schools Society object to one, which "is a voluntary association of persons of various religious communions," (its Committee consisting frequently of Members of the Church of England, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, and Quakers,) "formed for the purpose of diffusing the blessings of a well-ordered education amongst the labouring classes of this country," while in the whole list of 43 individuals, who compose their own catalogue of Patron, President, Vice Presidents, Committee, and Trustees, they have taken care to admit not four Protestants of any class, as far at least as I can know their names, and yet at their Annual Meeting they Resolved-(see page 19,) "That a Petition be forwarded to the Imperial Parliament, praying that the Education

Grants be no longer entrusted' to the Kildare-place Society, and in their Report they expressed a hope, that it may be transferred to themselves, thus-"Your Committee confiding in the LIBERALITY and good feeling of the Government of this country, take leave to recommend a petition to the Legislature for pecuniary aid towards the objects of your Education Society. They are well satisfied that a wise and LIBERAL Government will not limit to any particular sect or party, its countenance and support upon a subject of most vital importance to the community at large, but that assistance will be impartially given, provided the object be approved." (see page 17.) These passages put in apposition thus, prove that they want the whole funds of the Education Society to be transferred to themselves, and yet their own list of Officers and Committee proves, that their own is truly a sectarian and party society :Thus, they consider "impartially, to mean, giving only to themselves, and thus they expect that a Committee, which has embraced and is open to all the sects in the country, will be sacrificed to one, in which I believe there is but one Protestant, and he one, whose Parliamentary duties and absence from town, must make it impossible for him ever to attend.

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SUPERTITIONS OF INDIA.

PILGRIMAGE TO HURDWAR IN 1820.

Amidst the complicated superstitions of Hindooism, and the almost endless objects of the blind devotion of its votaries, we can trace certain institutions which are common to them with other nations of antiquity, some which seem to spring from physical causes, perhaps peculiar to this race, and others which would seem to owe their origin to the better feelings of the human mind itself, and to the honest but feeble efforts of its earliest aspirations. Of the latter kind, as I conceive, the adoration paid to rivers, and to fountains, partakes in a great degree. In a rude and uncultivated age, the more striking phænomena of nature-the sun, the moon, the heavens, the tempest, the rugged mountain shaken by the blast, the foaming cataract or tranquil stream, according to the various sensations which they were calculated to excite, became objects of fear, of hope, and even of devotion. In a country in which the lives and happiness of millions depend on the periodical inundation of its principal rivers, gratitude it may be supposed, would direct the minds of a rude people to the source of these as the objects most worthy of their devotion. They saw them, like the great Author of nature, scatter blessings upon all within their reach, without distinction of tribe or caste. They saw them pursue their course in tranquillity over the vast plains of India, fattening and fertilizing a soil which without their benign influence, were an arid waste, a barren desert, cheerless and uncomfortable to man. The ancient Hindoos, more than any other people, seem to have regarded rivers in this point of view:-and indeed in no other coun

try do they confer greater benefits than in this, and we may observe that the devotion still paid to them is not the least innocent or interesting part of their religion.

Of the various places on the Ganges, which on account of their peculiar sanctity attract the devotion of Hindoos, none have maintained greater reputation for holiness than the spot at which this magnificent river enters the plains of Hindostan, after pursuing its devious course through the snowy mountains of Himalaya. This place is the celebrated Hurd war, or Hardwar.

Fed in its still obscure origin by melting snows, and collecting its waters from innumerable mountain streams, acquiring strength and rapidity in its course, the Ganges here bursts from its obstructed path, thence to pursue its course in tranquillity towards the ocean. From time immemorial the Hindoos have regarded this spot as peculiarly sacred, and a pilgrimage thither is regarded by them as amongst the most devout and meritorious acts of their lives. In the month of April therefore, of each year, innumerable crowds of Hindoos from every part of India, resort to this sacred place for devotional purposes, and many bear with them the ashes of their departed friends and relatives, which they commit to the sacred stream. Every twelfth year is marked with more than ordinary interest, and at such period the assemblage of pilgrims is unusually great.

The duodecimal period falling on the present year, the general tranquillity observed throughout the whole of Asia, and the flourishing condition of Hindostan in particular, were circumstances which seemed in every respect auspicious to the grand festival, and to indicate a more than ordinary concourse of people. The government of India had wisely taken every precaution which humanity, policy, and prudence could suggest, in order to prevent those fatal broils which had on many occasions been the disgrace of Hindoo sectarians, and rendered the site of devotion a scene of slaughter and of bloodshed. The most praise-worthy liberality of of sentiment would seem to have dictated the means by which this most desirable object was to be accomplished; as it became necessary to employ troops for the maintenance of order, and the protection of the people, those only were employed who professed the Hindoo faith. The prejudices and religion of the pilgrims were thus secured from insult, the zeal of bigots was repressed, rival chiefs were overawed, and the utmost liberty ensured to individuals.

For several months previous to the festival, multitudes of people had been collecting at Hurdwar, and the crowd was reported to have been uncommonly great towards the end of March. About this time a most extraordinary degree of mortality prevailed at this place, in consequence of which a report existed that epidemic cholera, so long the scourge and terror of Asia, had made its appearance. But there does not appear to have been any good grounds for this report, and the mortality, great as it was, may satisfactorily accounted for, if we reflect upon the nature and cir

be

cumstances of the multitude here assembled; a large proportion of which consisted of persons who having come from the more distant parts of India, were suffering numerous privations; and others in the last stage of existence, who having reached the end of their toilsome journey, seemed to entertain no other wish than to leave their bones there.

I shall now endeavour to give you some account of what I observed at Hurdwar. Meerut, where I have for some time back been stationed, is a Cantonment for European and Native troops, about thirty miles from the city of Delhi, and the most considerable station on our Northern frontiers. I left this place on the second of April, and by a mode of conveyance as convenient as expeditious, on the following day I had reached the first range of hills, and was deposited in the midst of the throng on the banks of the Ganges.

As I approached the mountains the scene was rendered interesting by innumerable groups of pilgrims of both sexes pursuing the same direction, cheering each other with a song or humorous narrative, interrupted only by the applause and laughter of the auditors. Men, women, and children were huddled together in the same rude vehicle; here were seen a group of Brahmans, and there of fanatic Fakers: but the more striking groups were composed of separate villagers, following each other in succession. The female part of the throng seemed more particularly delighted with the scene, which at this season was further heightened by the cheerful call of the peasant industriously watering his fields, whose lively verdure was pleasingly contrasted with the deeper, harsher tints of the woods and uncultivated plains on either hand. But these scenes of rural simplicity, of innocent mirth, and of apparent happiness, soon gave way to others of a different kind. The near approach to the mountains had now impressed on the view that character of wild and majestic grandeur which belongs more particularly to the great works of nature, and which wholly occupying the mind, leaves neither room nor inclination for the contemplation of minor objects.

The day was calm and serene; the sun had not yet dissipated the grey clouds of the morning which were flitting along the base of the mountain, and now gradually ascending into the higher regions of the atmosphere. Rain had fallen on the previous day, and the atmosphere had become highly refractive. Mountains were seen piled on mountains, peak on peak, in majestic grandeur, till they attained a height truly stupendous. The eye embraced a considerable extent of these various ranges of mountains, which thus piled upon each other seemed to form a barrier impassible to man. The most distant peaks appeared to the eye as if they were within a day's march, yet their actual distance exceeded a hundred miles. The effect of light showers in increasing the refractive power of the atmosphere, is in this part of the world very remarkable at the station of Meerut, upwards of one hundred miles from the first range of mountains, and upwards of two hun

dred from the highest and most distant, during the dry season when not a cloud obscures the sky, and the atmosphere is for months together, clear, dry, and transparent, the visible horizon is still bounded by the intervening plain. But when a few showers of rain have fallen, a stupendous chain of mountains starts into view, and seem to be close at hand.

The very great elevation of these mountains, as seen even from this place, and the great distance which intervenes, will surely lead to the belief that in height they exceed all others on the face of our globe. I have somewhere read in the Edinburgh Review, that the greatest distance at which the summits of the Andes have been seen at sea, does not exceed a hundred and forty-one geographical miles, and that the greatest distance at which any terrestrial object has been known with certainty to have been seen from sea, does not exceed a hundred and fifty miles.

The summit of Mowna Rea, in the Sandwich Islands, it is stated, was observed by Marchand, on the horizon, at the distance last mentioned. As I approached nearer to Hurdwar, the more distant mountains were gradually hid from the view; the crowd of pilgrims continued to augment; and for several miles before entering the place, the roads were rendered nearly impassable by the throng. The multitude pressed on in a continued stream towards the sacred spot: a spirit of enthusiasm seemed generated as they advanced towards the place, and spread rapidly from group to group their toils were forgot; their aching limbs seemed to acquire fresh vigour, and their countenance more than ordinary animation. Nothing was heard but singing and the most noisy manifestations of joy. It was not to be expected that a cunning and avaricious priesthood would neglect to take advantage of such feelings to extort money, and to impose upon the credulity of the unreflecting multitude. Here and there were exhibited to view, some of those senseless austerities and revolting superstitions which are but too successful in debasing the human mind, whilst they cast into shade the boasted innocence of the religion of Brahma. It were painful even to enumerate the complicated sufferings and tortures which the superstitious and the cunning here inflicted on themselves :-neither would the relation obtain credit were it not for the notoriety of such practices.

The place called Hurdwar is a village of moderate size, habitable in the dry season only, and consisting of houses of a superior description, much resembling the style of Hindoo temples, being covered externally with the most absurd representations of animals, and crowded with ornament to excess. These are chiefly for the accommodation of pilgrims, and have been built by the Brahmans who directed the police of the place, and by other devout persons. It is situated at the mouth of a narrow valley, formed by the first two ridges of hills. It is at this spot that the Ganges forsakes the mountains and enters Hindostan. I am not provided with the aids necessary to enable me to calculate its height above the ocean, and I have mislaid my notes respecting the mean tempera2 B

VOL. VIII.