jovial. This whole day was paffed in gallantry, till fome of the neighbouring inhabitants, envious of their mirth, rulhed in with drawn fwords. The elder part of the company tried to appeafe the younger, promifing the very next day to bring the rioters to jaftice; this they performed: the third day, the caufe was heard, and the whole day was engaged in accufations, plead ings, exceptions, and paffing judg ment; on which the term specified by Jupiter expired.

take a journey into the moon, and cert of mufic was introduced the ftay there at least three days, in order younger part of the company began to see the wonders of the place, and to dance, and the fcene was entirely give an account of them at their return. Jupiter confented, and ordered them to affemble on a high mountain, where there fhould be a cloud ready to convey them to the moon; they were accompanied by fome chofen companions, who might affift in defcribing and painting the objects, which molt truck their attention. At length they arrived at the moon, and found a habitation well fitted for their reception. The next day, being very much fatigued with their journey, they remain quiet at home till noon; and being ftill faint, they refreshed themselves with a moft delicious entertainment, which fo entirely engroffed their attention, as to overcome their curiofity. This day they only faw through the windows a delightful spot, adorned with the moft beautiful flowers, to which the beams of the fun gave an uncommon luftre; and heard the finging of moft melodious birds, till the evening arrived. The next day, they arofe very early, in order to begin their obfervations; but fome very beautiful young ladies advised them firft to recruit their Arength, before they expofed themfelves to the laborious task, which they had undertaken: the delicate meats, the rich wines, the beauty of the damfels, prevailed over the refolutions of these strangers. A fine con

On their return to Greece, all the country flocked around them, to hear the wonders of the moon; but all they could tell was, for that was all they knew, that the ground was covered with green, intermixed with flowers, and that the birds fung among the branches of the trees; but what kinds of flowers they faw, or what kinds of birds they heard, they were totally ignorant of. On making this declaration they were all treated with that contem which they fo uftly merited. The prefident then addreffed his pupils: I advife you to take example by this fable, and not to waste the fhort time allotted to you in, luxuries, gallantries, and contentions: the ftudy of nature is before you; explore her beauties and her virtues: obferve, and admire!'

TRANSLATION of the LETTERS of a HINDOO RAJAH: By Eliza Hamilton, 2 Vd. Crown 8vo..

ters, which evince the fair author to poffefs a mind fully fuperior to the frivolity fo often imputed to the fex; a mind highly cultivated, and formed upon the beft models of female excellence."

Thefe Letters are introduced by A Pel minary Differtation on the Hif tory, Religion, and Manners of the Hindoos. From this, as well as from the Letters themselves, we fhall prefent our readers with fome extracts.

THAT part of Afia, known to Europe by the name of Hindooftan, extends from the mountains of Thibet on the north, to the fea on the fouth, and from the river Indus on the weft, to the Burampooter on the eaft, comprehending, within its limits, a variety of provinces, many of which have been famous, from the earliest ages, for the falubrity of their climate, the richness of their productions, and the fertility of their foil. Of this country, the Hindoos * are the Aborigines Over the origin of this celebrated people, time has caft the impenetrable mantle of oblivion. Their own annals trace it back to a period fo remote, fo far beyond the date cf European chronology, as to be rejected by European.pride. The magnificent proofs of ancient grandeur, however, which are still to be found, and which have been fought for with the most fuccefsful affiduity, by many of our countrymen in India, give the moft irrefragable teftimony of the antiquity of their empire, and feem to confirm the affertion of its hiftorians, "that its duration is not to be paralelled by the hiftory of any other portion of the human race." To ac count for this extraordinary degree of permanency, we must direct our attention, not to the barriers formed by

nature around their territories, but to thofe internal caufes arifing from the nature of their government, their laws, religion, moral prejudices, and etablithed manners.

The ancient government, throughout Hindooftan, appears to have been a federative union of the various flates, each governed by its own rajah, or chief, but fubje&ted, in a fort of feudal vaffalage, to the fovereignty of the fųpreme emperor, who was head of the whole.

The manner in which the rajahs of the Hindoos exercised the rights of dominion over their people, bears fo little analogy to that practifed by the petty fovereigns of fuch European ftates as are placed in circumstances nearly fimilar; that it would be doing the greateft injuftice to the amiable and benevolent character of the Hindoos, to bring them into comparison. There the right of fovereignty bore the mild afpect of parental authority.. The prince confidered the people in the light of children, whom he was appointed by heaven to protect and cherish; and the affection of the fubjet for the prince, under whofe aufpices he enjoyed the bleffings of freedom and tranquillity, was heightened, by eftcem for his virtues, into the moft inviolable attachment †.

*The word Hind, whence Hindoo, and Hindooftan, or country of the Hindoos, is of Perfian origin, computed by colonel Dow to have been derived from Hind, a fuppofed fon of Ham, the fon of Noan; and by other Orientalifts, to owe its origin to the river Indus. For the fake of fuch as take pleafure in tracing etymologies, I infert a note written on the margin of the copy of Gentoo laws, now in my poff ssion, by one whofe knowledge of the Perfian language has not been excelled by any. He fays, The word Hind is often ufed by the Perfian poets to fignify black, or darkcoloured, and it is probable that Hindos may mean nō more than a black man, as our negro from Niger."

.

The defcriptions of the poet, may fometimes be called in to juftify, and illustrate, the affcrtions of the hiftorian. In this light, the following paffage from the beautiful drama of Sacontala, which was performed at the court of an Indian monarch, celebrated for his love of the arts, and the encouragement he gave to polite literature, in the first century before Chrift, may not be unacceptable. There fits the king of men, who has felicity at command, yet fhews equal respect to all here no subject, even of the loweft clafs, is received with contempt. Thou feekeft not thy own pleasure, no, it is for the people thou art haraffed from day to day. When thou wieldeft the rod of justice, thou bringeft to order all thofe who have deviated from the paths of virtue thou biddeft contention ceafe: thou walk formed for the prefervation of thy people; thy kindred poffefs, indeed, confiderable wealth; but fo boundless is thy affection, that all thy fubjects are confidered by thee as thy kinfmen.

:

duties appointed by his birth, cannot do wrong. A man being contented with. his own particular filustion obtaine perfection?

The divifion of the Hindoos into four cafts, or tribes, to each of which a particular ftation was allotted, and peculiar duties were affigned, might doubtless be another caufe, which lent Though all Bramins are not priefts, its aid toward the prefervation of the none but fuch as are of this catt can general harmony. This divifion must perform any offices of the pienly have been made at a period too re- function. The members of every mote for investigation; and which other caft preferve for theirs the moit feems to fet conjecture at defiance. refpectful veneration; and a fpirit of It is by the Hindoo writers wrapt in partiality toward them feems to the veil of allegory; they fay, that breathe throughout their laws, as well Brahma, the first perfon in their triadas religious inditutions. of Deity, having received the power from the Supreme for the creation of mankind, created the Hindoos in the following manner;

From his mouth he produced the Bramin, and defined his rank to be the most eminent; allotting, for his bufinefs, the performance of the rites of religion, and the inftruction of mankind in the path of duty.

The next tribe he created was the Khettrie, or war tribe, and this he produced from his arms, his duty being to defend the people, to govern, and to command; of this tribe were the ancient rajahs.

'He next produced the Eice, or Banyan, from his thighs and belly, aigning him the occupations of agriculture and commerce. And lastly,

He created from his feet the tribe of Sooder, and to him allotted the duties of fubjection, labour, and obedi

ence.

The refpeftive, and peculiar virtues of thefe different cafts are admirably defcribed in the following paffage of the Bhagvat Geeta, an episode, from their great epic poem, tranflated into English by Mr. Wilkins.

The natural duty of the bramin is peace, felf-reftraint, patience, rectitude, wifdom, and learning. The natural duties of the Khettrie, 'are bravery, glory, not to flee from the field; rectitude, generofity, and princely conduct. The natural duties of the Bice are to cultivate the land, to tend the cattle, and to buy and fell. The natural duty of the Sooder is fervitude; a man by following the

Thofe who take pleafure in pointing the fhafts of farcafin againit the order of the priesthood (without confidering, that invectives againt any foci.ty of individuals are only fatires upon human nature) will readily alfign to the bramins themfelves, the formation of laws which appear favourable to their interefts; and produce it as an additional proof of pricitly cunning and ambition; but a moment's reflection on the duties, as well as privileges, of this caft, will put an end to invidious exultation.

An abhorrence of the shedding of blood, is a principle which pervades the whole of the Hindoo religion, but the Bramins obferve it in the ftrictest degree. They eat nothing that has life in it: the food confifting entirely of fruit and vegetables, and their only luxury being the milk of the cow, an animal for whofe fpecies they have a particular veneration. Not only every act of hoftility, but even every me thod of defence, is, to them, strictly prohibited. Submitting to violence with unrefifting patience and humility, they leave it to God, and their rajahs, to avenge whatever injuries they may fuftain.

6

The feparation of the different cafts from each other is abfolute and irreverfible: it forms the fundamental principle of their laws, and the flighteft breach of it never fails to incur univerfal reprobation..

Thus, thofe fources of difquiet, which have Keld molt of the empires of the earth in a fate of perpetual agitation, were unknown to the peaceful

children of Brakma. The turbulence of ambition, the emulations of envy, and the murmurs of difcontent, were equally unknown to a people, where each individual, following the occupation, and walking in the steps of his fathers, confidered it as his primary duty to keep in the fituation that he firmly believed to have been marked out for him by the hand of Providence.

In the fpirit of the religion of the Hindoos, a ftill more efficient caufe of the durability of their ftate, prefents itfelf to our view. Original in its nature, and abfolute in its decrees, its precepts induce a total feclufion from the rest of mankind. Far, however, from difturbing thofe who are of a different faith, by endeavours to convert them, it does not even admit of profelytes to its own. Though tenacious of their own doctrines, in a degree that is unexampled in the history of any other religion, the moft fervent zeal in the moft pious Hindoos, leads them neither to hate, nor defpife, nor pity fuch as are of a different belief; nor does it fuffer them to confider others as lefs favoured by the Almighty than themfelves. This fpirit of unbounded toleration proceeded in a natural courfe from the fublime and exalted notions of the Deity, taught by the bramins, and every where to be met with in their writings, and which are only equalled in that gofpel "which brought life and immortality to light."

That Being whom they diftinguish by the different appellations of the Principle of Truth, the Spirit of Wifdom! the Supreme! by whom the univerfe was fpread abroad, whofe perfections none can grafp within the limited circle of human ideas, views, they fay, with equal complacency, all who are ftudious to perform his will throughout the immenfe family of creation. They deem it derogatory to the character of this Being, to fay that he prefers one religion to another; "to fuppofe fuch preference, being the height of impiety, as it

would be fuppofing injuftice toward thefe whom he left ignorant of his will:" and they therefore conclude, that every religion is peculiarly adapted to the country and people where it is practifed *. The bramins, whọ compiled the Code of Gentoo Laws, tranflated by Mr. Halhed, explain their opinion upon this fubject in very explicit terms: the truly intelligent," fay they, "well know that the differences and varieties of created things are a ray of his glorious effence, and that the contrarieties of constitutions are types of his wonderful attributes. He appointed to each tribe its own faith, and to every fect its own religion, and views, in each particular place, the mode of worship refpeétively appointed it. Sometimes he is employed, with the attendants upon the mofque, in counting the facred beads; fometimes he is in the temple at the adoration of idols, the intimate of the muffulman, and the friend of the Hindoo, the companion of the Chriftian, and the confidant of the Jew."

A toleration founded upon fuch fyftematic principles, would neceffarily exclude thofe argumentative difputations, thofe cruel and obftinate animofities, which, alas! under a difpenfation whofe very effence is benevolence, have fo often disturbed the peace of fociety. There the acrimo nious cenfure, the keen retort, the vehement invective againft those who differed in opinion, was totally unknown. Under the banners of their religion, the irafcible paffions were never ranged. "He, my férvant," fays Krishna, fpeaking in the person of the Deity, He, my fervant, is dear to me, who is free from enmity, merciful, and exempt from pride and felfishness, and who is the fame in pain and in pleasure, patient of wrongs, contented, and whofe mind is fixed on me alone."

'I fhall conclude this account of the

notions of the Deity, entertained by the Hindoos, with the firft ftanza of

See Crawford's Sketches.