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HE Mogul-empire is a country of which we hear much, and know little; whence it will naturally follow, that the public will pay due attention to any account of that part of the world, written by a Gentleman who has refided in it for fo long a fpace as thirty years; and who, from his fituation there, had opportunities of gaining the information neceffary for fuch an undertaking: one, to whom an independent fortune, and a pleafing retirement, afford thofe hours of vacancy and leisure, which his abilities fufficiently enable him to employ, in a manner not lefs agreeable to himself, than useful to his country, and entertaining to his readers.

During his refidence in Bengal, Mr. Holwell had frequent opportunities of collecting materials relative to the tranfactions, revolutions, and occurrences of that invaluable country, and the religious tenets of its inhabitants, natives of Indoftan.' Among other things, he had procured many curious Gentoo manufcripts; and, in particular, two very correct and valuable copies of the Gentoo Shaftah. Thefe, however, he unfortunately loft, at the capture of Calcutta, in 1756: a loss the greater, too, as he had employed 18 months in a tranflation of the Shaftah; and had made a confiderable progrefs in the work.

As that work, fays he, opened upon me, I diftinctly faw, that the Mythology, as well as the Cofmogony of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, were borrowed from the doctrines of the Bramins, contained in this book, even to the copying their exteriors of worship, and the diftribution of their idols,-though grofsly mutilated and adulterated.-I should, in the compass of one year more, with the close application I intended beftowing on it, have accomplished a complete tranflation of the whole Shaftah, that would, I flattered myself, have been a valuable acquifition to the learned world, had not the fatal catastrophe of fifty-fix + put it totally out of my power ever to attempt it again."

From that change in our [Eaft-Indian] affairs, continues Mr. Holwell, a new chain of pursuits engroffed my time and attenti, fo that I could no longer devote either, to the ftudies I had before fo much at heart. However, during the last eight months of my refidence in Bengal, being freed from the plagues of government, (thanks to my very honourable mafters for it) I refumed my researches with tolerable fuccefs; which, joined to

*They were procured. Mr. H. tells us, with fo much trouble and expence, that the commiffioners of reftitution, tho' not at all disposed to favour him, allowed him 2000 Madras rupees in recompenfe for this particular lofs.

+ Vide our author's account of the dreadful affair of the BLACKHOLE; in the horrors and diftrefs of which he was himself involved: although he had the good fortune to be included in the small number of thofe who furvived it.

fome

fome manufcripts recovered by an unforeseen and extraordinary event, enables me to undertake the task I now affign myself.' Our Author adds, that having ftudioufly perufed all that has been written of the empire of Indoftan, both as to its ancient, as well as more modern ftate; as alfo the various accounts tranfmitted to us, by authors in almost all ages (from Arrian, down to the Abbé de Guyon) concerning the Hindoos, and the religious tenets of the Bramins, I venture to pronounce them all very defective, fallacious, and unfatisfactory to an inquifitive fearcher after truth, and only tend to convey a very imperfect and unjust femblance of a people, who from the earliest times have been an ornament to the creation-if fo much can with propriety be faid of any known people upon earth.

All the modern writers reprefent the Hindoos as a race of ftupid and grofs idolators: from the ancients indeed these people met with better treatment; although they too as well as the others were equally ignorant in the fubjects they treated of.

The modern authors who have wrote on the principles and worship of the Hindoos, are chiefly of the Romish communion, therefore we need wonder the less that they (from a fuperftitious zeal infeparable from that communion) fhould depreciate and traduce the mythology of the venerable ancient Bramins, on fo flender a foundation as a few infignificant literal tranflations of the Viedam, and these not made from the book itself, but from unconnected scraps and bits, picked up here and there by hearfay, from Hindoos, probably as ignorant as themfelves.

From fuch weak grounds and evidence as this, and by the help of a few exhibitions of the Hindoos, feemingly monstrous idols, the popifh authors hefitate not to ftigmatize those most venerable fages the Bramins, as having instituted doctrines and worship, which if believed, would reduce them below the level of the brute creation, as every reader must have obferved, who has mifspent his time in the perufal of them; in the way of their proper calling and function, they were however right; as having been appointed to propagate their own fyftem of theology abroad; though strictly (peaking, their own tenets were more idolatrous than the fyftem they travelled fo far to arraign, On this mistaken method and false zeal of propagating any faith at any rate, I beg to be indulged in making the following general reflections, which naturally arife from the fubject before us.

That ignorance, fuperftition and partiality to ourselves, are too commonly the cause of prefumption and contempt of others, -those whofe knowledge of ftates and kingdoms extends no further than the limits of their native land, often imagine all beyond it scarce worth their thoughts, or at least greatly inferior in comparison with their own; a conclufion natural, though unjust—If from clime and country we proceed to individuals,

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we shall fee the fame unwarrantable prepoffeffion and preference to self take place; and proceeding ftill farther in our reflections, we may obferve the fame confined way of thinking and judging, leads the multitude (and I wish I could fay the multitude only) of every nation and fect, to arraign and have in utter deteftation and contempt, the religious principles and worthip of all that happen to be out of the pale of their own church or mode of

faith.

• That every nation and feet should have a high and even fuperior opinion of the religious principles, under which they were born and educated, is extremely natural and juft, provided they do not from an intemperate zeal or religious vanity (now fo much the fashion) prefume to condemn, depreciate or invade the religious principles of others- this condemning fpirit căn proceed only from one of the three following caufes, a defect in understanding, a want of knowledge of the world (in men and things) or a bad (and refllefs) heart. The falvation of mankind, fo much pretended, has no place in the hearts or labors of these zealots, or they would not go about feeking whom they can confound in fpirit, deftroying the peace and tranquillity of their poor fellow chriftians.

Men who have been converfant with foreign countries, and made proper and benevolent remarks on the manners and principles of their inhabitants, will not defpife or condemn the different ways by which they approach the Deity, but revere it still as a divine worship, though they may pioufly lament it deviates fo much from their own.

To refcue diftant nations from the grofs conceptions entertained of them by the multitude, of all other perfuafions, is the true bufinels and indifpenfable duty of a traveller; or else his travels and remarks can only amufe his readers, without conveying to them any ufeful inftruction or folid fatisfaction.

A meer defcription of the exterior manners and religion of a people, will no more give us a true idea of them, than a geographical defcription of a country, can convey a juft conception of their laws and government; the traveller muft fink deeper in his researches, would he feaft the mind of an understanding reader. His telling us fuch and fuch a people, in the Eaft or Weft Indies, worship this ftock, or that ftone, or monftrous idol; only ferves to reduce in our efteem, our fellow creatures, to the mott abject and despicable point of light. Whereas, was he skilled in the language of the people he defcribes, fufficiently! to trace the etymology of their words and phrafes, and capable of diving into the mysteries of their theology; he would probably be able to evince us, that fuch feemingly prepofterous worhip, had the moft fublime rational fource and foundation."

• The

The traveller, who without thefe effential requifites, (as well as industry and a clear understanding) pretends to cribe and fix the religious tenets of any nation whatever, difioneftly imposes his own reveries on the world, and does the greatest injury and violence to letters, and the caufe of humanity-How far the productions of moft travellers may juftly fall under this cenfure, I fubmit to the public.

To the want of this attention and capacity in the traveller, we may afcribe in a great meafure, the defpicable, and I dare fay unworthy notions, we too aptly entertain of moft nations very remote from us; whereas, were we better informed, we fhould find our minds opened, our understandings enlarged, and ourfelves infpired with that benevolence for our fpecies, without which the human form becomes rather a difgrace than

ornament.

I am forry to fay, that in general the accounts published of the manners and religious principles of the Eaft and WeftIndies, have been in the light and fuperficial way before objected to but as my knowledge extends only to the former, I fhall confine my remarks to them; and endeavour to extricate them in fome degree from the grofs abfurdities we have conceived of them; confeffing myfelf amazed that we should fo readily believe the people of Indoftan a race of ftupid idolators, when to our cofts, in a political and commercial view, we have found them fuperior to us.

"Having tranfiently mentioned the Viedam and Shaftah, (the Gentoos fcriptures) it is neceffary I fhould inform youThe book first named, is followed by the Gentoos of the Mallabar and Cormandel coafts, and alfo of the island of Ceylon.

The Shaftah is followed by the Gentoos of the provinces of Bengal, and by all the Gentoos of the rest of India, commonly called India proper; that is to fay--the greatest part of Oriffa, Bengal Proper, Bahar, Banaras, Oud, Eleabas, Agra, Delhy, &c. all along the course of the rivers Ganges and Jumna to the Indus.

Both these books contain the inftitutes of their respective religions and worships, as well as the hiftory of their ancient Rajabs and Princes; often couched under allegory and fable; their antiquity is contended for by the partifans of each — but the fimilitude of their names, idols, and great part of their worfhip, leaves little room to doubt, nay plainly evinces, that both these scriptures were originally one. And if we compare the great purity and chafte manners of the Shaftah, with the great abfurdities and impurities of the Viedam; we need not helitate to pronounce, the latter a corruption of the former.- -All that I need add here, is, that my remarks follow the Shaftah only.' Having

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Having given this general intimation of the nature and import of his undertaking, Mr. H. proceeds to give us his bill of fare; obferving, that as tafte in reading differs as much as in the choice of viands, what proves a delicious morfel to one, is difguftful to another: he therefore prefents his readers with the following lift of what is provided for their entertainment, fo that he whofe ftomach does not ftimulate him to take the whole, may fall to, on that difh which beft fuits his appetite.

Under his first general head, he gives a fhort hiftory of the fucceffion to the empire of Indoftan, from Aurenge Zebe to Mahomet Shaw; whofe reign, if we mistake not, extended to the middle of the present century.

His fecond general head contains the tranfactions in the Subahdaary of Bengall, from the time in which Jaffer Khan ruled thefe provinces, to the ufurpation of the government by Aliverdi Khan, the CROMWELL of the Eaft-Indies; with the extraordinary circumftances attending the rife of this laft mentioned Subah, and his brother, Hodjee Hamet.

Thirdly, we have a fummary account of the provinces of Bengal, properly fo called; its principal towns, their bearings and diftances from each other, and from Calcutta: with an estimate of their revenues, and a seasonable important hint to the gentlemen in the Eaft-India direction.

These three general heads comprehend all the fubjects treated in this first part of our Author's defign. In the second part, which he affures his Readers will be speedily publifhed, Mr. Holwell promifes us, I. a fummary view of the fundamental religious tenets of the Gentoos, followers of the Shaftah. II. A fhort account, from the Shaftah, of the creation of the worlds, or univerfe. III. The Gentoo manner of computing time, and their conceptions touching the use of the worlds, and the period of their diffolution. IV. An account and explanation of the Gentoo fafts and feftivals, with a reprefentation of their grand feaft of the Drugah; comprising a view of their principal idols, and the genealogy of their fubordinate deities. V. A differtation on the Gentoo doctrine of the Metempsicofis, improperly called Pythagorean, by all who have wrote on this fubject, hitherto fo little understood.

Having thus given a brief sketch of Mr. Holwell's plan, we fhail conclude the article with an extract of his feasonable hint to the gentlemen concerned in the Eaft-India direction.

Notwithstanding the plaufible face of fuccefs our affairs in Bengal may wear at prefent, by late advices from thence, it is as demonftrable as any propofition in Euclid, that they cannot produce the great and effential end aimed at, viz. a lasting peace and fettled government, without which, the company muit fink under the preffure of a long expenfive war, which not

only