the senses were lulled to sleep, the torments would be too great to endure. But we are assured that they drink water, with opium infused into it, which is of such an intoxicating nature, that for some time it turns their brains. During the time they attend their sacrifices, they hang small round stones about their necks, as an emblem of eternity, which has induced some travellers to believe that they are descended from the Egyptians, who, in ancient times, painted eternity in the form of a circle, having neither beginning nor end. Another god, much esteemed and worshipped by these people, is called Perimal, and his image is that of a pole, or the large mast of a ship. The Indians relate the following legend concerning this idol: At Cydambaran, a city in Golcondo, a penitent having accidentally pricked his foot with an awl, let it continue in the wound for several years together; and although this extravagant method of putting himself to excessive torture, was displeasing to the god Perimal, yet the zealot swore he would not have it pulled out till he saw the god dance. At last, the indulgent god had compassion on him, and danced, and the sun, moon, and stars danced along with him. During this celestial movement, a chain of gold dropped from either the sun or the god, and the place has been ever since called Cydambaran. It was also in memory of this remarkable transaction, that the image of the god was changed from that of an ape to a pole, thereby intimating, that all religious worship should reach up towards heaven, that human affections should be placed on things above. At Samorin, a considerable city, is a chapel, and in it is a statue seated on the throne, and young children are sacrificed to it. It is made of brass, and when heated from a furnace underneath the altar, the child is thrown into its mouth and consumed. There are certain days set apart for the worship of this idol, and he is washed in consecrated water, every morning, by the Bramins.Flowers are scattered upon the altars, during the sacrifices; and they steep some herbs in the blood of a cock, which are afterwards thrown into a censer, with a large quantity of frankincense, and with this they perfume the idol. During the whole of the ceremony, the priest tinkles a little bell to animate the people in their devotions, a practice common in many heathen nations. The first part of the sacrifice, namely, that of destroying an innocent child, being over, the priest cuts the throat of a cock, with a silver knife, dipped in the blood of a hen, and holds the cock with the knife over a chaffin-dish, in the middle of the altar. The altar is pompously illuminated by wax tapers, and at the close of the sacrifice, the priest takes a handful of corn, and walks backwards from the altar, keeping his eyes stedfastly fixed upon it. When he comes to the middle of the chapel, he throws the corn over his head, and, returning to the altar again, removes every thing from it. There is a pagod near Naugracut, a considerable city between Indus and the Ganges, and in it is an idol, which the Bramins honour, by cutting off part of their tongues. This, however, is but done once during their lives, and it is reckoned the highest act of devotion they can perform, and such as submit to it are considered as saints. It is remarkable what veneration these people have for the river Ganges; in it they wash, out of pure devotion, and often throw into it, as offerings, pieces of gold and silver. Vast numbers of pilgrims are continually visiting this celebrated river, and while they bathe in it, they hold a short straw between their fingers. The pilgrims having washed themselves with great ceremony, are received by the Bramins, who conduct them to a pagod, where they offer some money and rice. During these ceremonies, the pilgrims repeat several prayers, and every one is said to have his sins forgiven, when he has been washed in the Ganges. Quilacara, a celebrated town on the borders of the Indies, is remarkable for a jubilee, celebrated there once in twelve years. On the morning of the festival, the rajah of the place, who is both sovereign, high priest, and civil governor, mounts a scaffold; and having stripped himself naked, is washed all over by his attendants. He then makes an oration to the people, telling them, that he is to offer himself a free-will offering to the gods. The people shout applause, when the rajah pulls out a sharp knife, and cuts off his nose, lips, and ears, and presents them to his idols, and he closes the ceremony by cutting his throat. Horrid as this ceremony may appear to us, yet there are others more barbarous still, and in the same province. Some of their devotees go in scores together, to visit the most celebrated temples; and standing before their altars, cut off their flesh by piece-meal, using the following words: "Thus do I mortify myself for the sake of my god." When they can endure the torment no longer, they say, "Out of love to thee, O my god, do I offer up myself a cheerful sacrifice." Then they stab themselves, and their bodies are immediately reduced to ashes. These precious ashes are sold by the priests for a considerable súm, to the deluded people, and are considered as preservatives against all sorts of diseases. During the month of May, these people observe a remarkable ceremony; aud it is at the time when the pilgrims come to bathe in the Ganges.They erect a pile of cow-dung, on which they put several baskets of rice, with herbs, roots, and all such vegetables as can be procured. To the whole is added a quantity of butter, and several piles of wood, which they set fire to; and during the time it is burning, they pretend to discover what sort of a barvest will ensue. In Visapour, at seed-time, they have a festival, which they celebrate in the following manner: The priests lop of all the branches of one of their tallest trees, except those at the top, and with these lopped branches, march in grand procession, singing hymns, attended by a vast concourse of people, to one of their pagods, where they rest before the gate, and salute the idol. The people repeat loud acclamations, and walk three times round the temple, and the arch-priest digs a hole in the ground, and pours into it some water brought from the Ganges, mixed with the urine of cows. In this hole the branches of the tree are fixed, and while the fire is consuming them, the arch-priest pretends to know, from the attitudes of the flames, what will happen during the remainder of the year. In all their ceremonies they sing a great number of hymns and psalms, which seems to have been a very ancient practice, even among the most idolatrous nations, both in Asia, and in other parts of the world. That it was used in Egypt, while the children of Israel were in a state of slavery, cannot be doubted; for we read, that when Moses went up into the mount to receive the law from God, the people made a golden calf, and danced before it; and, undoubtedly, they had music. Nay, there is not an ancient nation, nor indeed any of the moderns, where music, of some sort or other, does not make a part of their religious service. The Greeks and Romans were of opinion, that music appeased the anger of the gods; thus the poet says, "Tis pious duty now to praise, For this reason, the Pagan devotion was generally attended with vocal and instrumental music; and it was the custom to turn into verse, and sing in their temples, the heroic acts of their gods. But without taking any notice of the music made use of by the primitive Christians, which will naturally occur in its proper place, we shall here only observe, that even those barbarous people whose religion we have been treating of, are no strangers to music, and although they may not know the rules of art so well as the Europeans, yet we find that they have what is sufficient to satisfy their taste, and from that single circumstance we may learn, that music is an universal science. When the devotees among those people convert any young persons to become proselytes to their austerities, they prescribe a rule for their conduct, by attending to which their sincerity is known, and this is to last during six months. The reason they protract the time so long is, that they may not reveal their secrets to novices, till such time as they are in a manner certain that they will not desert them. This term of their noviciate, or trial, is called their regeneration; and during the first three months they are obliged to eat one pound of cow's dung, mixed with rice, every day. During the last three months, the quantity of dung is gradually lessened, and the reason why they eat the excrements of this creature is, because they believe there is something in them of a divine and purifying nature, both for the body and the soul. All marriages among them are concluded and solemnized when they are young, and this is done to prevent every sort of suspicion concerning impurity, although the men are allowed a plurality of wives, according to the nature of their circumstances, yet except in cases of barrenness, they seldom have more wives than one. Their priests, notwithstanding their attachment to idolatry, and their many ridiculous ceremonies, as well as criminal sacrifices, are such friends to human society, that they do all they can to discourage polygamy, or the having more wives than one. In support of this sentiment, they point out to the people, that where there are a plurality of wives, there are a vast number of dissentions and jealousies: the continual consequence of divided love. If the husband treats the one with tenderness and indulgence, which may frequently happen, then the others are sure to repine; and what man of human sensibility can bear the thought of such contending passions. It must distract his soul; and while he provides for the offspring of one woman, the children of the others are in a manner totally neglected. The evening before the solemnization of their marriages, the bridegroom, accompanied by all his relations, goes to the apartment of the bride, and at his first admission puts a pair of bracelets on each of the legs of his intended spouse; thereby intimating, that she is his captive, and that it is her duty never to depart from him. The next day there is a grand entertainment at the house of the bridegroom, and towards the evening the bride makes her appearance, accompanied by her relations. Several priests attending, lay their hands on the heads of the parties, and repeat several prayers; after which they are both sprinkled with water, as an emblem of purification. Several dishes of the richest fruits are then served up, and the company having eaten, the priest asks the bridegroom, whether he will promise, by his industry, to provide for the woman as long as he lives; to screen her from want, and bring up her children. This part of the ceremony being over, the whole company ride out on elephants, and towards midnight, when they return home, bonfires and other illuminations, serve to grace the solemnity. One of the most extravagant expences attending these marriages is, that although the parties should happen to live above an hundred leagues from the Ganges, yet they are obliged to have some of the water of that celebrated river. This the priests take care to furnish them with, for they keep it in jars for that purpose, which brings them in a considerable revenue. This costly liquor is always kept till the latter part of the feast, and the more liberal the bridegroom is in the distribution of it, the more generous he is esteemed, and the more respected in the neighbourhood where he lives. Last of all, the priest puts a chaplet, or crown of flowers, on the heads of the bride and bridegroom, declaring them to be husband and wife, and they are conducted to the haram, the place appropriated for the women. . In their funeral ceremonies, they are not so rigid as those who live under the direction of the Bramins, in the countries we have already described, subject to the great Mogul, but still there is a strong similarity. Such of the women as are religious devotees, often burn themselves along with the bodies of their husbands; but if they refuse to comply with that horrid, unnatural ceremony, then they are obliged to submit to the ignominy of having their heads shaved, and to go without a covering as long as they live. Sometimes the chief magistrate of the place refuses to grant them the indulgence (if it may be called so) to burn themselves, and in such cases. they are to lead a life of penitence ever afterwards. If they have money, they are to give the greatest part of it to the poor, and they are to repeat a certain number of prayers every day. They are also to go barefooted to one of their Pagan temples, on the day of every solemn festival; but they are not to be admitted as worshippers. In considering this circumstance, the governor acts in a very political manner; and if there is any crime in the woman, the penance is not voluntary, but constrained. But while he refuses them the privilege to burn themselves alive, along with the dead bodies of their husbands, he ought to take care that they are protected from insults. Perhaps the civil power is weak, and religious prejudices strong, and an enthusiasm, or religious prejudices, operate with the greatest strength on the minds of the vulgar, and as the vulgar are always the most numerous in all communities, so it is often dangerous for the magistrates to interfere with them. When a person is considered as in a dying condition, the body is carried out to the river or brook, where it is dipped till the water comes up to his mouth; and this is done that both soul and body may be purged from all impurities. If it happens to be near the Ganges, they tie the hands of the dying man to a cow's tail, and make her drag him into the water. If the cow emits urine upon the dying person, it is considered by the people as the most salutary purification, and he is believed by the priests and all his relations, to be washed from all imperfection. If the urine flows plentifully upon bim, his friends make loud acclamations of joy, and consider him as ranked among the number of the blessed; but when it happens that the cow is not disposed to make water, then the relations are disconsolate, and consider the dying man as going inte a state of punishment. If it appears that the patient's life is not absolutely in danger, then he is brought into the temple of one of their idols to be cured, and left all night before the altar, not doubting but his god will grant him a respite. If he dies, all his relations assemble at his house, and put the body in a coffin, decorated with figures, pointing out the circumstances of his death. The corpse is then carried to the funeral pile, attended by a vast concourse of people, and there it is reduced to ashes. During the procession they sing several hymns, and repeat a great number of short collects or prayers, and when they approach the place, the priest rings a little bell, intimating to the people, that it is their duty to pray for the soul of the deceased. The body is always washed with pure water before it is put into the pile, and that part of the ceremony being over, fire is set to the wood, and the whole is reduced to ashes, while the priests continue singing hymns. A question may here naturally be asked, viz.— Why do those heathens in the East Indies, in conformity with the practice of the Romans, burn the bodies of their dead? There have been several conjectures concerning the origin of this barbarous practice; as first, many of the eastern nations adored the fire, and therefore they considered it as an acceptable piece of devotion, to offer up the dead bodies of their relations to it. Secondly, their pride might induce the most celebrated heroes, and the most beautiful women, to desire to conceal from the world, what poor, helpless creatures they were while alive. Thirdly, they beheld many indignities offered to the dead, and they were willing, nay, desirous, that nothing of that nature should happen to their relations. Lastly, they might do it in order to prevent a contagious distemper which often takes place from the noxious smell of dead bodies. Whether any, or all of these conjectures may be founded in truth, we leave the reader to judge, but certain it is, the practice itself is contrary to natural religion, as well as to divine revelation. Natural religion points out, that as man was formed out of the earth, so at death his body should be consigned to it. "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt re |