The British World in the East: a guide historical, moral and commercial to India, China, Australia, South Africa and the other possessions or connexions of Great Britain in the Eastern and Southern seas

Front matter

THE BRITISH WORLD IN THE EAST. VOL. I. THE BRITISH WORLD IN THE EAST . A GUIDE HISTOEICAL, MORAL, AND COMMERCIAL, TO Jnfcia, Cfruta, Susstralta, _5»out6 afrua, AND THE OTHER POSSESSIONS OR CONNEXIONS OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE EASTEEN AND SOUTHEEN SEAS. BT LEITCH RITCHIE. IN TAVO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 7, LEADENHALL STREET. 1847. PEEFACE. " As one saith in a brave kind of expression, the sun never sets in the Spanish dominions, but ever shines upon one part or other of them." So remarked Bacon of a country which is now one of the least considerable of the powers of Europe, ignorant that one day the " brave expression " would be a simple truth when applied to his own. In like manner, it perhaps never occurred to Gibbon that the phrase he seems to de light so much in repeating, " the Roman World," might be adopted and modified with more than equal propriety by future historians of the British empire.

Rome was great and powerful at a time when the rest of the world was mean and weak, but England is a giantess even among the proudest nations of the earth ; and as for the extent of her territory, to use the felicitous language of Webster, " her morning drum beat following the sun, and keeping company with the hours, circles the earth daily with one continuous and unbroken strain of its martial airs."

Preface

. VI When the author of these volumes was invited to prepare a Survey of the British world in the east, he was at first of opinion that the comparative smallness of the space to which he was restricted would prove a disadvantage. But so far from this being the case, although it has unquestionably added to his labour, it has saved him from the imprudence of entering into competition with better writers, and enabled him to produce a work which will not be subjected to invidious comparison. The intelligent publishers saw that, at least in so far as the two principal countries to be treated of were concerned, a History, in the usual sense of the word, was not wanting : they desired rather to have the spirit and results of history in a form at once popular and practical. They knew, like wise, that meritorious Abridgments already existed ; but at any rate they were desirous of avoiding the details of such indices which, by crowding the memory, render it difficult for the reader to grasp and com prehend the subject.

The present work, therefore, aspires only to give the heads of knowledge ; and the author trusts that there will be found in it the materials for correct thought even where he has been unable to use them aright himself, and that it may thus serve to stimulate the curiosity, expand the mind, and invigorate the judgment. Thus much it has been considered necessary to say, in order to explain any paucity of names and other details which may be observed in the following pages. Few events of any importance have been voluntarily

PREFACE.

. VII omitted ; but the reader is referred to other works for a personal account of the actors. The same restriction must be applied to the com mercial information ; which is intended to give the merchant and economist an idea of the nature, value, and resources of the various markets, and thus to serve as an introduction to the circular and price current that are to be found elsewhere. In spelling proper names, the author has had nothing in view but the practical nature of his book. He has adopted, therefore, that mode of spelling to which he supposed his readers to be most accustomed ; although in doubtful cases he has of course assumed the privilege of a casting vote. The Arabian prophet, for instance, he has called Mahomed by way of a compromise ; although, if his own ear is to be trusted, Muhummud would be nearer the sound.

As for the French Mehemet, it resembles nothing in nature but the bleat of a goat. It needs only be added on this subject, that at the request of the publishers he has refrained from encum bering his pages with those notes and references, which, in the case of a book of greater pretensions, might be reckoned indispensable. " Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, and the Bahamas," says an American writer, " overawe and command the entire stretch of our Atlantic coast ; while the West India Islands guard the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, and Canada environs us upon our northern border :" — to which he might have added

PREFACE.

. that the Hudson's Bay territory extends backwards to the pole. But the eastern march of England is by far the most remarkable. Not to mention Gibraltar and Malta which dominate the Mediterranean, the whole outer coast of Africa is dotted with her settlements and fortresses ; Ascension — Saint Helena — Mauritius — guard the intercourse of the two hemispheres ; Hin dostan is her own ; along the shores of the Burman dominions, Siam, and the Malay peninsula are her ports and her cities ; from Singapore she commands the Indian Archipelago ; and in China her colony of Hong-Kong, with a magnificence of spirit worthy of her destiny, throws open to the world that commerce which her arms had made her own. But this is not all. A new continent spreads its prodigious expanse on the ocean between India and America ; and there this modern mother of empires has already planted her standard round the coasts — east, west, north, and south — and the ceaseless hum of English industry mingles with the voice of the Pacific.

To describe the progress of this eastward stream, and the countries it fertilizes, together with those that lie near its course, is the object of the work now submitted to the public ; and the author can only regret that the execution of the task is not likely to harmonize so well as he could wish with the greatness and utility of the design. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. INDIA.

Book I. The History Of India From The Earliest Time To The

DOWNFAL OF THE MAHOMEDAN EMPIRE. Chapter I. — India as known to the Greeks. Page First inhabitants . . . . .2 General idea of the geological structure of the country . 3 Knowledge of India obtained by the Greeks under Alexander the Great . . . . .9 Conjectures as to the state of civilization . . 14 Early commencement of decline . . .19 Chapter II. — From the First Inroads op the Mahomedans to the Fall of Ghizni. Sketch of the history of the Tartar nations . . 21 Conquests of the Arabs . . . .23 State of India before Mahmoud of Ghizni . . 26 His history, death, and character . . .28 Traces of the feudal regime in India at this period . 37 The first of the Slave-kings . . . .40 Chapter III.— From the Slave-Kings to the Conquest of Baber. Movement among the Tartar nations . . .41 Reign of the maniac Allah-u-din . . .43 Accumulation and dissipation of the wealth of India . 44 Conquest of Tamerlane . . • .47 X CONTENTS.

Page Chapter IV. — From the Accession op Baber to the Deposition of Shah Jehan. The conquest of Baber . . . .50 Flight of Humayoon and birth of Akbar in the desert . 53 Exploits of Akbar . . . . .54 Incorporation ofthe Hindoos with the Mahomedans . 56 Jehangir . . . . . .59 History of the Light of the Harem . . .60 Sir Thomas Roe at the court of Jehangir . . 67 Reign of Shah Jehan . . . .69 Chapter V. — Aurungzebe to the End of the Mogol Dominion. Reign of Aurungzebe and rise of the Mahrattas . . 71 Progress of the Mahrattas and rending of the empire . 74 Nadir Shah . . . . .75 The battle of Paniput and fall of the Mogul dominion . 76 General review of the preceding history . . .77 BOOK H. THE CIVILIZATION OF INDIA UNDER THE HINDOOS AND MAHOMEDANS. Chapter I. — Commercial Intercourse with the Western World.

Early history of Indian trade . . . .83 Phenicians, Egyptians, aud Romans . . .84 The Queen of the East . . . .85 Staple articles of trade . . . .86 Appearance of the Arabs upon the scene . . 89 Venice and Genoa . . . . .91 Changes occasioned by the discovery of a route to India round the African continent . . .92 Rise and fall of the Portuguese dominion . . 93 The Dutch and the English . . . .96 The French . . . . .106 Commencement of hostilities between the French and English in India ..... 109 General convulsion in India and battle of Plassey . .115 Chapter II. — Internal Industry and the Industrious Classes. Distribution of wealth in India . . .119 General condition of the people . . , CONTENTS. XI Page Description of the village system . . .124 Clubs or guilds of the trades . . . .129 Effect of castes on industry .... 129 Staples of industry ..... 130 Stationary condition of the arts under the Mahomedan dominion . . . ,136 Chapter III. — Religion— Caste.

Character of the Hindoo mythology . . . 140 Brahminical system . . . . .141 Buddhism ..... 147 Morality of the Hindoo religion . . . 148 Asceticism in India compared with that of other countries . 152 System of caste ..... 154 Trifling influence of Mahomedanism upon the religion and caste of India . . . . .159 Chapter IV. — Government, Law, Literature. Form of government .... 162 Administration of the laws .... 167 Collection of the taxes . . . .168 National literature . . . . .171 Influence in these particulars of the Mahomedan conquest . 176 Administration of the laws of the Mahomedans . . 180 Chapter V. — Manners and Morals. Condition of women .... 182 The Hindoo mother . . . .184 Marriage ...... 185 Alleged indelicacy of the women . . . 187 Gentleness of the national character . . .188 Crime and poverty ..... 189 Death and funerals ..... 192 Comparison between the Hindoo and Mahomedan character 193

Book III. The History Of The Settlements Of The English And Other

EUROPEAN NATIONS IN INDIA. Chapter I. — From the Battle of Plassey to the Acquisition of Bengal by the English. State of the country after the battle of Plassey . . 200 Position of the English and French . . . CONTENTS. Page Siege of Madras by the French . . .204 Capture of Pondicherry by the English . • ■ 205 Victories of Clive . . • • .207 The battle of Baxar, and establishment of the English as the greatest military power in India . • • 21° Description of the country at this epoch . . .211 Chapter II.— From the Acquisition of Bengal by the English to the Peace with Tippoo in 1784. Conquest of Tangore . . • .217 Destruction ofthe Rohillas . 222 The English an independent power in India . . 224 Success of Hyder Ali at the head of a coalition against them 226 Peace concluded with Tippoo .... 227 Chapter III. — From 1784 to the End of the Mahratta War in 1785.

Deposition of the Rajah of Benares by the English . 230 Capture of Bangalore .... 232 Capture of Seringapatam, and a new treaty of peace . 233 Renewal of the war ..... 236 Second capture of Seringapatam, and death of Tippoo . 237 Oude subsidized, and the Nabobs of Surat, Tangore, and Arcot deposed ..... 240 Treaty of Bassein ..... 242 The Mahratta war, and the Emperor permanently in the hands of the British .... 243 Their victories and triumphant peace . . . 244 Chapter IV. — From the End of the Mahratta War in 1805 to the Final Subversion of the Mahratta Powers. Mutiny of the native troops at Vellore . . . 249 Mutiny of the European officers at Seringapatam . . 252 Capture of the Dutch possessions in the Indian Archipelago . 255 War with Nepaul .....* 259 The Pindarrie war ..... 263 Defeat of the Mahratta princes . . . 265 Deposition of the Peshwa (the head of the confederacy), and annexation of his dominions . . . 268 Destruction of the Pindarries ....

CONTENTS XIII Chapter V.— From the End of the Mahratta and Pin- "ge darrie War to the Treaty for the Restoration of Shah Soojah. The Burmese war ..... 270 Mutiny of the native troops at Barrackpore . . 278 Chastisement of the state of Bhurtpore by the British as the paramount power in India .... 281 The Rajah of Mysore pensioned, and his territories put into the hands of a British commission . . . 282 Annexation of Coorg .... 283 Origin of the Affghan war .... 288 Chapter VI. — From the Tripartite Treaty to the Present Time. Occupation of Candahar by the British army . . 294 Capture of Ghizni ..... 295 Entry of Cabool ..... 296 Capture of Khelat ..... 296 Surrender of Dost Mahomed .... 298 Insurrection at Cabool and murder of British officers . 300 Fatal retreat and massacre of the army . . . 302 March of the avengers ; the destruction of Candahar, Ghizni, Istaliff, the bazaar of Cabool, and the defences of Jellalabad ; and the return of the British army to India . 309 The war with Scinde and annexation of the country . 313 Misconduct and chastisement of the Mahrattas at Gwalior . 317

Book IV. The Constitution And Regime Of The East India Company

Chapter I. — The Constitution of the Company from the Commencement at Home and Abroad. First English traders to India .... 322 Early constitution of the Company . . . 324 Misconduct of the Company's servants in India . . 330 Change in the constitution of the Company . . 332 Institution of the Board of Control . . . 334 Existing constitution and regime . . . CONTENTS. Page Chapter _____ — The Army and Marine of the Company. Origin and early history of thc army . . • 351 Arms and accoutrements of the troops . . • 352 Strength of the army .... 355 Promotion . 357 Military funds . 360 Causes of the loyalty of the sepoys . . - 361 Picture of the march of an Indian army . . 363 Constitution of the Mogul forces . . • 366 The Indian navy ..... 367 Chapter III. — Law and Police. Original constitution of the courts of law . . 373 Separation of the revenue and legal departments . . 376 Restoration of the union .... 378 Working of the police system .... 381 Administration of justice at the several presidencies . 387 Punishments ..... 389 Improvement in the j udicial system . . . 391 Chapter IV. — Revenue, Commerce.

Hindoo taxation ..... 395 Taxation under the Mahomedan rule . . . 397 Perplexities of the British .... 398 Zemindary settlement of Lord Cornwallis . . 399 Ryotwar settlement ..... 402 Monzawar or village settlement . , . 404 The salt monopoly ..... 407 The opium monopoly .... 408 Commercial revenue of the Company . . .' 410 Chapter V — Ecclesiastical, Educational, and other Establishments. Unwillingness of the English to interfere in matters of religion 419 Slow increase of the church establishment . . 419 Present establishment .... 420 Obstacles in the way of conversion . . . 421 Progress of education .... 422 Medical establishment of the Company . . 426 Education of the natives by themselves . . . CONTENTS. XV

Book V

A GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE OF INDIA; ITS PRODUCTIONS, RESOURCES, AND CAPABILITIES ; ITS CONNECTION WITH EUROPE BY MEANS OF STEAM NAVIGATION ; AND A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF THE COUN- TRY UNDER HINDOO, MAHOMEDAN, AND BRITISH RULE Chapter I. — A Geographical Outline of India. Page Description of the country on the basis of the soubah division of Akbar .... 433 System of revenue ..... 451 Extent and population .... 453 Chapter II. — The Productions, Resources, and Capabilities of India. Cotton . . . . . .456 Sugar . . . . -459 Indigo . . . . .460 Silk . . • • -461 Opium ....■• 463 Tobacco . . . • • .464 Tea, coffee, pepper . 465 Wool . . . • • -467 Mineral kingdom ..... 472 Chapter III. — Indian Steam Navigation, External and Inland. History of Indian steam navigation . . • 474 New theory of storms . 481 River navigation . 482 Chapter IV. — Review of the Condition of the People under Hindoo, Mahomedan, and British Rules.

Difficulties to be encountered in a survey of this kind . 485 Influence of the Mahomedans— and then of the British— on Hindoo civilization . 487 History of English society in India . . • 492 Favourable change . 496 Moral position and prospects of the Hindoos . ■ THE BRITISH WORLD IN THE EAST.

Chapter I. India As Known To The Greeks

The plateau of Central Asia is generally looked upon as the cradle of the human race. From this elevation numerous chains of mountains radiate on all sides, forming the skeleton of the continent, distinguishing climates, and laying out the sites of tribes and nations. From the same original centre, we are told, men first went forth to people the regions thus prepared for them by nature ; and ever since, the torrent of population has continued to burst from time to time upon the world. The pro genitors of mankind are usually divided by speculative B [

BOOK I.

2 THE BRITISH WORLD IN THE EAST. philosophers into different races, from whom their de scendants are supposed to derive both their physical and moral characteristics ; but others, insisting upon the natu ral equality of all human beings, derive them from one original stock, and ascribe the varieties they present to the influence of circumstances. According to the latter theory, the Hindoos might be regarded as merely a tropical variety of the Caucasian race ; the islanders of the Indian Archipelago, again, as the connecting link be tween them and the Chinese ; while the Chinese, Indo- Chinese, Japanese, Coreans, and the whole of the Tartar tribes, exhibit undeniable proofs of consanguinity. The Hindoos are described by some as the earliest in habitants of India, while others point to the various tribes still lurking in the forests, and in recesses of the moun tains, without apparent connection in religion or manners with the body of the people, as being more likely to deserve the character of aborigines.

When the wander ing family of man, however, first found their way through the gorges of the Himalaya, it was in all probability in small detachments, which may either have been dislodged by succeeding and mightier tides of population, or may have fled to remote parts of the country at the appearance of a people to whom their ancestors had belonged, but whom they had now forgotten, even in tradition. The question, however, is of no moment in a practical work like the present. It is sufficient that the great body of the Hindoos form a tribe so peculiar as to be con sidered by some a distinct race of mankind. But their character, it cannot be denied, may have been preserved, if it was not impressed, by the nature of their habitat. Their country was at first the fertile banks of rivers and water-courses, all besides remaining a desert till the in troduction of artificial irrigation.

The movement of CHAP. I.] HISTORY OF INDIA. 3 population was no doubt rapid in a region where the com mand of nature to increase and multiply was seconded by warmth and abundance ; the human tide must, in a comparatively early age, have overspread the sunny valleys of Hindostan ; and must then have been hemmed in, or driven back upon itself, by the ocean and the Himalaya, the Indus and the Brahmapootra. The limits thus casually mentioned would seem to be the true boundaries of the country ; but the natural division of the task we have essayed requires us, before preparing to enter into the minuter questions of geogra phy, to endeavour to convey some general idea of its grand geological distinctions. The idea, however, must necessarily be vague and incomplete, for the materials are scanty, and probably not so accurate as could be desired.

India, in fact, may be said to be still unex plored by science ; for our information has hitherto been chiefly derived from those meritorious individuals who, stimulated by natural taste and genius, have from time to time mingled nobler studies with their professional pur suits, and thrown upon war or trade the lights of phi losophy. The Himalaya chain is understood to commence to the northward of the city of Cabool, whence it stretches, under the Affghan name of Hindoo Koosh, to the confines of Cashmere, a distance of four hundred and forty geographical miles. Here it gives passage to the Indus, on the farther side of which, assuming its own more appro priate appellation (meaning the Abode of Snow), it pursues a south-eastern course, separating India from Thibet, till it is lost to observation in the unexplored country beyond Bhootan.

It is supposed, however, to traverse afterwards the most southern provinces of the Celestial Empire, gradually sinking in elevation till it b reaches the Chinese Sea. This stupendous range is reckoned the loftiest in the world, affording, for at least a thousand miles, a series of elevations twenty-one thousand feet above the level of the sea, with various summits rising beyond that height about six thousand more. The more elevated portion of the mountains, so far as they have been surveyed, are composed of primitive rocks, but more especially of gneiss, with only occasional veins of granite intermixed, and beds of micacious schist. The other constituents are hornblende-schist, chloriteslate, and crystalline lime-stone, supporting clay-slate and flinty slate ; with sand-stone towards the base, forming the southern steps of the chain.

No trace has yet been discovered of volcanic action ; and these sublime mountains may be supposed to retain the identical shape they received when the crust of the globe was first formed. Neither are their elevated parts subject to the vicissitudes of the seasons which elsewhere change the aspect of nature. No rain falls upon their heads, to freeze into glaciers, and be again dissolved into torrents, but their peaks of primitive rock are covered with eternal snow. In the names given to different parts of the range — Himadri, Himarat, Himachil, and Himalichil — snow is always the distinguishing expression. Himalaya (the grand collective appellation), it need hardly be added, is one of the gods of the country, the father of the holy Gunga, and the step father of Siva the Destroyer. Running for a certain distance nearly parallel with this range, there is another of inferior elevation, composed of the same materials, but with sand-stone as the principal surface rock, which forms the southern barrier of the valley of the Ganges and Jumna.

There are also three mountain ranges disposed in a very remarkable manner along the sides, and across the base CHAP. I.] 5 HISTORY OF INDIA. of Peninsular India.* The western, or Malabar range, commences at Kandeish, and stretches along the coast, at a distance averaging about forty miles, till it terminates near Cape Comorin, overlooking the Indian Ocean. During this course, the primitive rocks are frequently seen above the surface, sometimes in peaks of granite six thousand feet (and one, it is said, seventeen hundred feet more) above the level of the sea ; but the distinguishing geological feature is the superincumbent trap in the northern part of the range, and the iron clay, or laterite in the south. The former of these basaltic formations confers upon the landscape a character of wild and romantic beauty, the hills sometimes rising in vast ter races, and sometimes in tabular masses, with deep gulfs between ; the whole clothed with forests of teak, and the other majestic trees of India.

The primitive rocks of the Continent rise again in the island of Ceylon, the elements, however, which compose them being frequently in such unusual proportions as to confuse the geologist. Quartz, hornblende, and dolomite are found, but not in mountain masses ; with the recent formations of lime-stone and sand-stone, the latter forming a belt round the whole island, between low and highwater mark. The mountains here are in continuous chains, like those of the main land, and rise in some cases to the elevation of five thousand feet, with one or two peaks a thousand feet higher. Returning to the Peninsula, the eastern, or Coromandel rano-e commences at the valley of Coimbatoor, where it may be said to issue from the western, or Malabar range ; and it extends northward to about the same latitude, where the latter begins.

Its general elevation is lower, * No part of India is a peninsula, but the application of the name is now so generally received, that it would be difficult to get rid of it. and for this reason the rivers which have their sources in the lofty table land between the two ranges (which are commonly, though improperly termed ghauts) descend, with few exceptions, through its valleys and gorges into the Bay of Bengal. The loftiest portions yet surveyed, do not greatly exceed three thousand sect. The sides and base of the mountains are composed of granite, gneiss, and mica slate, interspersed occasionally with clay slate, horneblende slate, flinty slate, chlorite and talc slate, and primitive or crystalline lime-stone. The Vindhya range stretches across the country in such a manner as to form the base of an irregular triangle, the two other sides of which are the Coromandel and Malabar chains.

The Vindhya mountains, however, have comparatively little geological connexion with the penin sula farther than the Krishna river, and should rather be considered as a portion of the general scheme of Central India. The grand and peculiar feature of the whole of this surface is the superincumbent trap, which is said to cover an area of two hundred thousand square miles. The other rocks are granitic, with sand-stone; but the whole of India is peculiarly barren of more recent formations than the latter. The coal strata are numerous throughout the entire country ; but of these and other mineral riches, we shall have to treat in another place. A thing worthy of mention, however, and hardly susceptible of explanation is, that the rarity of organic remains, both in the stratified rocks and diluvial soil, is the most striking phenomenon in Indian geology.

Connected with the western limits of the Vindhya range, by a curved line of hills, are the Aravulli mountains, which stretch almost to Delhi, and serve as a barrier between Central India and the western desert. These mountains rarely exceed two thousand feet above CHAP. I.] 7 HISTORY OF INDIA. the level of the sea, although Mount Aboo, in the neighbourhood, is supposed to rise to the height of five thou sand. Their composition is granite, including sienite. The Indian Desert, a geological feature of a different kind, but quite as remarkable as the others, extends laterally from the Aravulli range to the valley of Sinde. On the north it meets the valley of the Sutledge, and on the south is lost in the Runn, or great salt marsh of Cutch. From Hyderabad, as far north as Ooch, in looking eastward from the river, the visible horizon is a bulwark of sand, frequently two hundred feet high, guarding the valley of the Indus like the wall of a fortress.

This is the commencement of the Desert, which is well characterized by its native name, Maroosthali, or the Region of Death. It consists, with the exception of a few oases, of hills of loose and heavy sand, which sometimes change their position and shapes at the caprice of the wind, and which, but for the intervention of the Aravulli mountains, would long ago have submerged the whole of Central India. The Runn is an immense morass of salt and mud, the area of which is estimated at eight thousand square miles. The salt deposits are chiefly formed by the river Looni, rising in the Aravulli ; and in some places the incrustations are so thick as to have the appearance of snow. This line of desert, whether of land or salt, stretching northward to the Sutledge, is the grand defence of India on the west.

It is skirted by the valley of the Indus, beyond which the sandy desert is continued. The country of the Punjab, therefore, forming the north-west corner between the desert and the Himalaya, affords the only point of access in this direction for an army. It is obvious that a region so securely enclosed within natural barriers must have remained for a considerable period unknown to the rest of the world. Before the veil was withdrawn India had arrived at maturity ; and the wandering Europeans found , in the country of the Eastern "barbarians," a civilization as refined as their own, though so strange and peculiar as to perplex as much as it astonished them. Long before this period, however, the productions of India were known in the west by means of the southern Arabians, who appear to have been the first carrier-merchants of the world ; and even that early caravan which purchased the favourite son of Jacob for twenty pieces of silver was loaded with " spiceries" as well as the balm and myrrh of Canaan and Arabia.

But in the first ages of foreign commerce the dealers knew little of each other, their transactions being carried on with mutual distrust, and frequently in pro found silence ; and for this reason the wealthy and voluptuous Egyptians continued for centuries to enjoy the luxuries of the East without learning anything of the country whence they derived them. Five hundred and fourteen years before Christ, Darius the son of Hystaspes, if we may depend upon the sole authority of Herodotus, extended the Persian sovereignty to the Valley of the Indus ; but even if there is no ex aggeration in this statement, the fact does not seem to have dissipated in any considerable degree the ignorance which prevailed respecting the country and the people. One hundred and eighty-seven years later, however, Alexander the Great obtained at least a glimpse of that region of mystery which had so long stimulated the curiosity of the world.