Oriental Annual; or, Scenes in India

Front matter

THE

ORIENTAL ANNUAL,

OR

Preface

The first series of the Oriental Annual is now completed. The signal success of the first two volumes has encouraged the proprietor to incur a further expense in rendering the engravings still more worthy of public patronage.

Upon this head it will be sufficient to say that five of the subjects have been engraved by Brandard., and two by John Pye ; the remainder by the best engravers employed on the former numbers.

Next year will commence an entirely new series, connected with the most interesting portion of Indian history.

ENGRAVINGS

FROM i3ratoutg0

BY

WILLIAM DANIELL, ESQ. R.A.

IN THE HARBOUR OF MASCAT (Frontispiece.)

THE ADJUTANT (Vignette Title.)

A RICH MAHOMEDAN

THE TIGER HUNT ....

THE CHOULTRY OF TREMAL NAIG AT MADURA

HINDOO TEMPLE AT TRITCHENGUR

THE BRAMINEE BULL ....

A HINDOO WOMAN ....

ON THE BALIAPATAM RIVER

SCENE NEAR THE COAST OF MALABAR

THE SMALL DEER OF CEYLON

LION AND BUFFALOE ....

THE MONKEY AND CROWS

NEAR MASCAT .....

THE FORTS OF JELLALI AND MERANI MASCAT

BOMBAY . .

TOMB OF A PATAN CHIEF, OLD DELHI

TOMBS OF PATAN CHIEFS, OLD DELHI

ON THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTA

ENTRANCE TO THE CAVE OF ELEPHANTA .

ENTRANCE TO THE LARGE CAVE, SALSETTE.

THE UPPER CAVES, SALSETTE

ERRATUM.

Page 107, line 21, for " the mover," read " them over.

SCENES IN INDIA.

Chapter I

EMBARK FOR MADRAS. A HURRICANE.

Shortly after the breaking-up of the monsoon, we took our passage to Madras in a country ship : it was a fine vessel, built of teak, and about six hundred tons burthen. Besides our party, there was only one passenger, a lady, on her way to join her husband who had a command somewhere on the Coromandel coast. I occupied a small cabin under the poop, on the right-hand side as you entered the cuddy. The ship was commanded by an old weather-beaten seaman who had lost an eye, over which he wore a black patch, that gave a fierceness to the expression of his countenance, naturally rough and grim, by no means conciliating. He was besides deeply seamed with the small-pox, which imparted to his broad rigid features an asperity that repelled courtesy, and rendered him at first unpopular among his passengers, though he was a prodigious favourite with the crew. The fact was, that although his face presented such an unfavourable index of the inward man, it was really a false inter-

B preter: for, under the most forbidding exterior, this man possessed great kindliness of nature. His coarse boisterous sincerity soon lost its rust, and we saw through the superficial crust that there was the polish of kindly feelings beneath ; and he shortly became an object, if not of respect, at least of general well-liking. There were two officers besides the captain, and a crew of forty Lascars. One of the officers was a young man of education and of considerable literary attainments ; the other was a much commoner order of person, although esteemed by the men as admirably skilled in the science of seamanship.

On the afternoon of the second day after we had left Calcutta, having cleared the Sunderbunds, we amused ourselves by throwing out a bait for a shark, A large fish soon took the hook, but so desperate were its struggles, that it snapped the rope and escaped. Another tackle, newer and stronger, was immediately prepared, when the same fish almost instantly seized it, and, after a mighty resistance, was drawn up over the ship's side and safely lodged upon the deck. The hook of the first line was stuck fast in its throat, while the last hook was securely fastened in its stomach. Its strength was prodigious, and so furiously did it lash the deck with its tail, as to render it dangerous to approach within its sweep. With a single stroke it overturned one of the guns ; the carpenter then severed the dangerous member with the blow of an axe ; after which, the savage creature was quickly despatched. It measured nineteen feet. When opened, there was taken from its stomach a piece of solid timber thirteen inches long, and as thick

THE WEATHER THREATENS. 3

as a man's arm, which it had no doubt swallowed in mistake for something more nutritious; for so ravenous are these creatures, that they have been frequently known to devour greedily not only wood, but even pieces of iron.

Two days after we had fairly got into the bay of Bengal, the weather began to threaten. The previous night had been exceedingly sultry. The air appeared stagnant, as if it had suddenly ceased to circulate, and the heat in consequence became painfully oppressive. In the morning the wind blew fresh, and all the sails were reefed, in consequence of the lowering aspect of the heavens. There was a faint haze over the sun, which gave a brassy tint to its beams, and these were reflected dimly upon the surging waters. The Lascars, who are never fond of preparing against a gale, did their duty sluggishly, and looked grave and uneasy. The captain foretold foul weather, though to an inexperienced eye there was nothing to warrant so unfavourable a foreboding. The wind continued fresh all the morning, but did not materially increase for the first two or three hours. After breakfast the passengers, of whom there were but six, seated themselves in the stern gallery, some watching the progress of the weather, and others making an effort to beguile the duhiess of the morning by playing at chess or backgammon. The whole scene was marked by an indefinite dreariness ; no one expressed any positive apprehension, yet the captain's unqualified prediction of a stiff gale imposed upon every countenance a gravity not a little ominous of ill. There was something startling in the very unusual appearance of the sky :

SCENES IN INDIA.

a mysterious but omnipotent hand had traced upon its broad expanse mystical characters not to be definitively interpreted, but yet, like the handwriting on the wall in the palace of the Chaldean king, of most portentous aspect. The only lady among us every now and then expressed her fears, when a sudden gust caused the vessel to lurch with an increased momentum, as if the billows were already commencing a fiercer conflict.

By noon the wind had risen to a steady gale, yet there was nothing to excite immediate apprehension. The clouds had by this time obscured the sun, over which they rolled in dark misshapen masses, appearing at intervals as if they had been torn asunder by the wind and scattered in gigantic fragments through the troubled air. The very forms they assumed had that monstrous indistinctness of outline such as the imagination shapes in sleep, bringing before the entranced eye shadowy nothings which impart a vague but actual feeling of terror. Fancy gave them now an indefinite yet palpable existence — I mean a vital existence — and each fantastic volume that passed over the ship changing its form with every fresh burst of the blast, seemed a new harbinger of mischief.

" The firmament is filled with scatter'd clouds, And as they fly before the wind, their forms, As in a picture, image various shapes — The semblances of storks and soaring swans, Of dolphins and huge monsters of the deep, Of dragons vast, and pinnacles and towers."*

From the " Mrichchakati," or " Toy-cart," a Hindoo drama.

A GUN ESCAPES FROM ITS FASTENINGS. 5

By four o'clock in the afternoon it blew a perfect hurricane, and the vessel was lying-to under a close-reefed main-topsail. The ports were all fastened down, and the guns drawn in upon the quarter-deck. The hatches were well secured, and every precaution taken which the most -Tigilant foresight could suggest against the probable devastations of the storm.

While we were seated in the cuddy, not quietly but very uneasily taking our tea, the vessel appeared of a sudden to leap over a gigantic billow, and the moment she had recovered her libration, she rolled so heavily that her bulwarks were nearly under water. The tables were forced from their stays, overturned, and all the tea-things shattered to pieces; we were thrown from our chairs, and for a minute or two the utmost confusion prevailed. Scarcely had we resumed some degree of composure, before one of the guns broke from its lashings, and rolled from side to side of the quarter-deck each time the ship yielded to the fierce impulse of the waters, threatening with every shock, as it dashed against the bulwarks, to force its way through into the deep, to the positive danger of the vessel. In one of its furious migrations, it struck a dripstone, which had been secured in a corner near the cabins, released it from the strong wooden case in which it was confined, and sent it bounding upon the deck, placing in great peril those who were engaged in the necessary duties of the ship. The noise occasioned by these huge masses dashing from side to side, added to the howling of the wind and the fierce lashing of the waters, was painful in the extreme. The Lascars were afraid to oppose themselves

b 3 to the destructive course of these ponderous bodies, which had so unexpectedly escaped from their assigned stations, and seemed about to add seriously to the mischiefs already fearfully threatened by the storm. At length, the second officer having dexterously cast a noose over the gun, brought the rope suddenly round the capstem, to which the carriage was soon fastened, and here it was suffered to remain for the moment. The stone was now easily secured, and thus our immediate anxiety was quieted.

The wind continued to blow with terrific violence, and the Lascars were evidently becoming indifferent about working the ship. This is one of the characteristics of Indian sailors. In stormy weather, whenever the case appears an extreme one, they abandon themselves to dogged apathy which nothing can rouse : their notions of predestination lead them to imagine that their time is come ; and thus, instead of striving to avert the threatened calamity, they sullenly await the apprehended destruction. Ships have been frequently lost by this sluggish and unmanly despair on the part of these blind predestinarians. It has been wisely said by one of their own sages, " danger should be feared when absent, and braved when present ;" but they entirely reverse the maxim, and give way to the most superstitious apprehensions. It fortunately happened that we had a few Manilla men on board, who by their active example stirred up the torpid energies of some of the Lascars, which else they might have refused to exercise.

As night drew on, and the hurricane rather increased than abated, every precaution was used to

A HURRICANE.

make all secure for the night ; but the captain was evidently thoughtful and uneasy, his cheek was flushed and his eye restless. He gave his orders with all the coolness and precision derived from long experience, but it was evident that his mind was labouring under unusual excitement. He turned continually to the weather with an earnest but unquiet gaze ; stood frequently by the man at the wheel ; watched him as he steered, every now and then seizing one of the spokes with an impulsive eagerness which evinced a highly perturbed state of feeling. I could not help observing this, and it led to conclusions not at all calculated to prepare me for a peaceful night's rest. I began to be extremely disquieted ; and though I did not venture to express my apprehension, the saddest ideas were continually crowding upon my thoughts and filling my breast with tumultuous emotions.

The wind was by this time frightfully violent. At intervals the captain vociferated his orders through a trumpet, which sounded amid the howlings of the storm like the hoarse cries of some evil spirit by which its merciless fury was excited and kept in play. The uproar is not to be described ! At length all had retired to their cabins save the captain and myself. We were both seated in the cuddy ; I upon the carriage of a gun, to which I was obliged to cling to preserve my equilibrium. He was smoking a cigar ; and our conversation, now carried on with some difficulty, turned naturally upon the hurricane, against which the ship was at that moment most fearfully labouring. Suddenly, a heavy sea struck her astern, but happily on the quarter, and in an instant carried away the quarter-gallery on that side, swamping the cabin into which the poor lady before spoken of had retired for the night. The force of the water was so great, that it dashed open the door of the cabin, and its fair occupant was borne head foremost into the cuddy, dripping like a mermaid, her hair hanging about her shoulders in long thin strips, when she was rescued by the captain from further mischief. She was drenched to the skin. It was a pitiable sight to see her quick and almost convulsive gaspings — her eye upturned with a deep settled glare of half-consciousness, that seemed as if her mind wire in a state between terror and agony, to neither of which she could give expression, as the water had nearly suffocated her. The blood had receded from her cheeks, which were overspread with a dull bluish white. In a few moments she recovered her breath, when she shrieked and fainted. A dry boat-cloak was thrown round her, and the captain gallantly resigned to her his cabin, where she soon recovered, and changed her wet attire. Although the damage done was considerable, yet the breach made by sweeping off the quarter-gallery was immediately stopped by the carpenter, who nailed up a few stout planks, and covered them with a thick tarpaulin.

It was late before I retired to my cot, and some time before I could sleep: weariness, however, at length overcame me, and in spite of the dreadful howling of the hurricane I slept. I remember well my dreams were troubled ; I had a confused perception of danger which was more painful than the most vivid sense of peril. The roar of the gale and the heavy booming of the ship

A STRANGE DREAM. V

as she laboured through the waters broke sensibly upon my ear, in spite of the repelling power of slumber. Every instant I beheld, though indistinctly, objects of horror, which were on a sudden dispersed by the heavy pitching of the vessel, that for a moment restored me to consciousness; but sleep soon again overpowered my senses, and placed her terrifying phantoms before me. I fancied myself upon a rock in the midst of an illimitable ocean, the waters of which were raging around with frightful commotion : a huge raven was perched close at my side, its hideous eyes glaring upon me with an expression that I could not mistake, and which shot through my frame a pang of irrepressible agony. The waters lashed the base of the rock with a fury that made it vibrate to the very foundation, and I felt as if I should be every instant cast among its mountainous billows. The whole surface of the ocean was as red as blood, which disclosed its hideous crimson every time the lightning, that was perpetually breaking from the heavens, illumined the shoreless expanse upon which my eyes were fixed in terror. In the hollows of the waves lay the bodies of the drowned, and of some persons yet alive, struggling in the last agonies of a most appalling death. At this moment the thunder crashed; the lightning glared, struck the rock, and shivered it : the whole mass was riven ; it yawned at my feet, and a frightful chasm threatened to engulf me. The raven perched upon my breast, flapped its wings in my face, and I fell backward into the horrible abyss.

I awoke in agony, and to my consternation found that my cot had struck against the roof of the cabin, where it remained motionless; it no longer swung. For the instant I fancied the vessel was in the act of sinking — I knew not what to think. When my senses had somewhat recovered from the shock and terrible impression of my dream, I sprang from the cot upon the cabin- floor. I heard a dreadful uproar upon deck, and with a half-frantic desperation threw myself into the cuddy. I had no other dress on than that in which I had retired to my cot for the night. The noise upon deck increased, and my anxiety by this time amounted to positive torment. I reached the cuddy door, and opened it with a heart full of wild and tumultuous apprehensions. I had scarcely done this, when a gigantic billow poured over the bow of the ship, hissing and sparkling in the impeded moonlight, and I stood upon the cpaarter-deck up to my shoulders in water. I clung for an instant to the ladder of the poop, which, as soon as I could recover myself, I ascended. Here I witnessed a scene which I shall never forget to the latest moment of my existence. When memory brings the picture to my mind, with the long shadows of years between it and the reality, it shakes me even now. I never carry my thoughts back to this fearful night that the minutest circumstance of the scene does not recur to my recollection with the most awful distinctness : it is one of those events only to be wiped from the records of memory in that grave " where all things are forgotten."

I looked around me upon a wide world of waters, which were raging with fearful commotion. The

THE HURRICANE INCREASES. 11

lightning streamed over them, pouring like a liquid torrent from the heavens in flashes so quick as to be almost continuous, and illuminating the whole expanse of the ocean. The wind howled so loudly, that I could scarcely hear my own voice, and blew so fiercely, that I was obliged to cling to the rail in front of the poopdeck in order to secure my footing. As I cast my eyes below, the ship appeared absolutely buried in the billows. All the ports were fastened so that no water could escape, and she had shipped no less than five tremendous seas. She was now upon her beamends, labouring through the mighty swell with a motion so unnatural, that the captain turned to me, who was alone with him on the poop, and vociferated, with an oath which made me shudder, that we were going down. I quailed under his blasphemy, which the extreme peril rendered the more horrible. He raved and stormed like a madman, and ordered that the lashings of all the ports to leeward should be instantly cut. The vessel now lay like a log upon the sea ; the rudder had no power. She was almost under water, while the hurricane was raging at its utmost might, and every billow seemed to rise like a mountain to overwhelm her. She still, however, floated ; but the struggle could not last. I had seated myself by the mizen-mast, against which I leaned, expecting every instant to feel the waves dash over and sweep me into the " yeasty deep." To attempt to describe my reflections at this crisis would be a vain effort. I was stunned by the awful scene ; my senses were so overwhelmed, that no perceptible image was presented to my mind. I had no positive apprehension of the death which now appeared inevitable ; for my imagination was distracted by such a confusion of indistinct and fleeting images, that I could not collect my thoughts into a current of clear and definite ideas. Insensibility was rapidly coming over me; I am satisfied that my senses would have been lapped in complete oblivion before I could have sunk under the surface of the raging sea. While I was in this state of all but complete stupefaction, I heard the welcome sound, though imperfectly through the hoarse brawling of the wind, " Ports all clear I" which had scarcely readied my ear, before the ship righted, and the captain's frightful agitation subsided. The moment the ropes were cut which confined the ports, these latter were forced open by the prodigious pressure of the water, which almost instantly escaped and left the deck comparatively free. The vessel recovered her position, and the immediate peril at once subsided.

She was now put before the wind, and drove under bare poles at the rate of ten knots an hour. I emitted the poop, changed my clothes, and remained for the rest of the night on the deck. At intervals the moon burst from the dark purple masses that hurried rapidly over her fair disk, and poured her clear silvery light upon the turbulent ocean. The lightning diminished shortly after midnight, but the wind continued without the slightest abatement. The Lascars who composed the watch had thrown themselves into the boat, which was fastened between the main and fore masts, and could not be induced to stir until they saw that all immediate danger had subsided. The officer of the

SHIPWRECKS. 1 3

watch was obliged to use the most summary methods to induce them to perform their necessary duties : they crawled about with an apathy and indifference which a smart application of the rope's-end, occasionally administered by a very muscular arm, could scarcely dissipate.

Although I had remained so long upon the poop, drenched to the skin, with nothing on but the dress in which I slept, in the very teeth of that terrific hurricane, yet I had not felt in the slightest degree chilled; on the contrary, the excitement from utter hopelessness to the apparent certainty of escape from threatened destruction, produced a glow all over my body, and I continued upon deck, amid the rush of waters and the roar of elements, without the least desire to retire again to my cabin. The officer of the watch, who was a rough sailor, a Newcastle man, about the middle age, and the best portion of whose life had been passed at sea, entertained me with doleful stories of his numerous escapes, and the vessels he had seen go down, describing the cries of the drowning with a melancholy minuteness of detail — all but realizing to my excited mind the horrors by which such dreadful calamities are accompanied. I listened to him with painful interest, which continued until he was relieved, when I quitted the deck and retired to my cot, where I soon fell into a refreshing sleep.

By sunrise the wind had much abated, the foresail was set, and the ship resumed her course. Still there was occasional rain and thunder at intervals :

1 t SCENES IN INDIA.

From the dark womb in rapid fall descend The silvery drops, and glittering in the gleam Shot from the lightning, bright and fitful, sparkle Like a rich fringe rent from the robe of heaven.

Nothing further occurred out of the common course of events until we reached Madras.

The morning was beautiful when we anchored in the Madras roadstead. The Masoolah boats were instantly alongside, and my fellow-passengers and myself gladly proceeded to the shore. There was another boat behind us with several passengers from a ship, which had cast her anchor shortly after we had cast our's. The surf was very high, though the day was fine, and only a slight breeze gently undulated through the air. There was a cross swell, boisterous and difficult, requiring all the skill of the boatmen to get their boat into a favourable position for riding securely over the surf. The catamarans were close beside us, to pick us up in case of accident ; for the ground-swell, which is so remarkable all along this coast, was particularly heavy. With some difficulty we were at length safely landed ; but the boat behind us was not so fortunate. By some mismanagement, the man at the helm had allowed her to advance too far upon the crest of the breaker, which curled suddenly under her, raised her stem in the air, when another surge instantly succeeding, turned her a complete somerset, stem over head, and sent every person within her sprawling in the surf. They were whirled about in the most violent manner, performing many disagreeable evolutions, their mouths filled with water and sand, until rescued from their jeopardy by the

MADRAS ROADS. 15

men who followed in the catamarans, and plucked them from the rapacious jaws of the sharks within a very few seconds after the disaster. They presented a sorry picture as they stood upon the beach, dripping, and wiping their faces, when they were beyond the reach of danger. The whole of their baggage was recovered from the impetuous waters. After having liberally rewarded the active fellows who had saved them from a watery death, they proceeded, like ourselves, in palenkeens towards the town.

Chapter II

A RICH MAHOMEDAN. NAUTCH GIRLS. A HOG- HUNT.

I remained at Madras for two or three weeks, when, joined by my old travelling companions, we proceeded down the coast, nearly retracing our former route as far as Tanjore. Here we fell in with a wealthy Mahomedan, who showed us particular attention, treating us with great hospitality during our stay, which made our time pass very agreeably. The first visit we paid him was in the afternoon, just after he had taken the siesta, and was enjoying his hookha in the veranda of his dwelling. He was seated on a rich carpet under a magnificent awning, attended by two domestics, one of whom was protecting him from the inconvenience of the sun's rays with a chatta composed of the palmyra-leaf, and the other was waving over him a yak's tail, in order to prevent the impertinent intrusion of flies and moscmitoes. The mussulmaun courteously invited us to his dwelling, which was in the neighbourhood of the city, upon the river Cavery ; and we visited him almost every evening during our stay. He had a splendid mansion, with a numerous establishment. One evening, before we quitted Tanjore, he gave a sumptuous en-

.mfOTwIff

SPLENDID ENTERTAINMENT, 17

tertaininent, to which we were expressly invited. Our host was about five-and-thirty years of age ; he had a tall commanding person, was remarkably courteous in his manners, and of easy, unembarrassed address. Like most persons of his race, he was extremely fond of show, living in a state of almost princely magnificence. In the evening, when we reached his abode, we were ushered into a room almost entirely panelled with English looking-glasses, in gorgeously gilded frames, extending nearly from the top to the bottom of the apartment, and so multiplying its extent, that it appeared all but interminable. The rich Mahomedans frequently live in great splendour, spending large sums of money upon the furniture and decorations of their houses, in which, however, there is much less of comfort than of magnificence. How strikingly do they confirm the wise saying of a Hindoo philosopher ! — " Riches amount to just as much as is bestowed in gifts or enjoyed ; the rest goes to others."

By the time the room was filled, it seemed to contain a crowd as numerous as Satan's newly raised Pandemonium.

As bees In spring-time, when the sun with Taurus rides, Pour forth their populous youth about the hive In clusters, they among fresh dews and flowers Fly to and fro, or on the smoothed plank, The suburb of their straw-built citadel, New rubb'd with balm, expatiate and confer Their state affairs — so thick the busy crowd Swarm'd and were straiten'd.

After a variety of embracings, sprinklings with rose-

c 3 water, and sippings of an agreeably acidulated drink something like our ordinary lemonade, the party squatted themselves upon small Persian carpets, covered with the most florid devices, spread upon a fine rush mat beautifully white and of the finest texture. WIr'H the guests were disposed in proper order, a musician advanced, made his salaam, and gave us an air upon the sarinda ; — a rude kind of violin, which he managed with more dexterity than taste. He was shortly joined by several other members of his profession, and for a good half-hour we were doomed to nothing short of a musical purgatory. To my especial relief, this luxury of Oriental melody had its termination, and several nautch girls were introduced. The two principal wrere extremely pretty, with figures of the most delicate symmetry. They wore silk trousers of a pale scarlet, gathered round the ankles, below which a thin gold bangle embraced the small delicate leg. From these were suspended minute silver bells, that kept a gentle and by no means disagreeable tinkling, as these Oriental figurantes went through the various evolutions of their native dances. Upon the upper part of their persons they wore white jackets closely fitted to the shape, terminating in a short skirt, which descended loosely over the hip, but was left open in front, so as to expose the trousers; under this jacket a transparent petticoat hung as far as the knee. Over the head and shoulders was thrown a veil of beautiful thin gauze, which crossed the bosom, and, when spread open, was made occasionally to hide the entire figure of the dancer ; at each corner was a rich tassel of gold or silver bullion. This veil

NAUTCH GIRLS. 19

the nautch girls manage with great grace and skill in their dances, one while peeping from beneath it with an arch expression of unequivocal meaning, at another exposing the whole countenance, beaming with a radiance that only makes the beholder regret so much beauty should be allied to so much depravity. The eye is usually lit up with earnest animation, every feature being refulgent with expression, that, but for the revolting leaven of sensuality which appears to give it life, would be entrancing to gaze and to dwell upon.