Persees at their Devotions.

1805. mon fire. Mr. Ives had once an opportunity of August. observing the manner in which they perform this

ceremony of devotion. A large brass pan was placed in the middle of the house with fire in it, before, or rather on each side of which, two men were kneeling at their devotions, pronouncing their prayers with great rapidity. He, was afterwards informed, that one of them was a priest, at that time on a visit to another priest in a fit of sickness: he was likewise informed, that the Persees have such a veneration for fire that they never put it out or even breathe upon it; and he observed, that while the two priests were at their prayers over the pan of coals, they had a piece of white linen over their mouths, to prevent their breath from reaching their favourite element. The prayers, however, from the similarity of the sounds, appeared to him to be only a repetition of the same set of words: The visiting priest used many gestures with hiş hands over the fire, and afterwards stroked down the face of the sick priest, which our author looked upon to be the final benediction, as the ceremony ended immediately.

As the Gentoos burn their dead, one would imagine that the Persees, who have such a veneration for fire, would be desirous of having their bodies consumed by that element; but instead of this they expose their dead bodies to be devoured by birds of prey; because, say they, a living man is composed of all the elements, so it is but reasonable, that after he is dead, every particular element should receive its own again.

On the top of Malabar hill, about two miles from the town of Bombay, there are two round

Repositories for the Dead.

buildings for receiving the dead bodies of the 1805. Persees, which remain there still the bones are August. clean picked by the birds. This is certainlyan abominable custom, and affords very shocking spectacles; however, a guard is always placed at a little distance, to prevent people prying too narrowly into these matters, or, as Mr. Ives says, to insure the vultures their' repast without any disturbance.

Mr. Grose tells us, that on his going to look into one of these repositories, a Persee advised him, in a friendly manner, to let it alone, as no person who was not a party concerned, would long survive such a curiosity. He tells us also, that the person appointed to look after the dead carefully observes which eye is picked out by the birds, and from thence judges of the situation of the soul of the deceased; a state of happiness being indicated by the right eye being first picked out. Mr. Ives observes, that from the intense heat of the sun, much less noxious vapour is emitted from these bodies than might be expected, the flesh being soon shrivelled up, and the bones turning quite black.

At the extreme point of Malabar hill there is a rock, on the descent to the sea, flat on the top, in which there is a natural crevice that communicates with a hollow terminating in an exte rior opening to the sea; this place is used by the Gentoos as a purifier from their sins. This purification is effected by their going in at the opening and coming out through the crevice, though it seems too small for people of any corpulence. In Bombay oxen are generally used instead of horses, not only for drawing carriages, but for

Oxen used in Carriages.

1805. riding; and however ridiculous such a practice August, may seem to us, it appears that they are not in this respect inferior to ordinany horses, being capable of going at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour. They are commonly of a white colour, with large perpendicular horns and black noses. The only inconvenience that attends, them is, that by being naturally subject to a lax habit of body, they sometimes incommode the rider with filth thrown upon him by the continual motion of their tails; though in other respects they are, perhaps, preferable to Indian horses, and will trot and gallop as naturally as the horses of this country. At the end of every stage the driver always changes the position of the bullocks, thrusting his hand into their mouths to take out the froth; without which precaution they would be in danger of suffocation.sit to

ELEPHANTA AND SALSETTE,

(From the Second Volume of Indian Antiquities.) Elephanta-Conjectures respecting the Caverns of Elephanta-Walls, Figures, and gigantic Statues-Figure of the Elephant-Particular Description of the Figures in the Cavern-Salsette-Caverns of Canarah-Their amazing Pagodas, &c. &c.-Romantic View from Canarah-Maurice's Reflections on these Antiquities.

INGENUITY hath been tortured, and conjecture 1805. exhausted by fruitless endeavours to discover at August. what periods the stupendous caverns at Elephanta and Salsette were hewn from the native rock; the purposes to which they were originally devoted; and the meaning of the hieroglyphic figures sculptured on their walls. While some have imagined them to be places of retreat from an invading enemy; others have considered them as the stony sanctuaries of a religion no longer existing; while others again, with still less probability, have supposed them to be hallowed receptacles of the ashes of the illustrious dead. They have been attributed to Semiramis, to Alexander, and to giants and genii!

These rocky shrines, the formation of which Mr. Grose supposes to have been a labour equal to that of erecting the pyramids of Egypt, are of various height, extent, and depth. They are partitioned out, by the labour of the hammer and the chissel, into many separate apartments, and

Gigantic Figures in the Elephanta.

1805. the roof (which, in the pagoda of Elephanta, is August. flat, but in that of Salsette is arched) is support

ed by rows of pillars of great thickness, and arranged with much regularity. The walls are crowded with gigantic figures of men and wo men, engaged in various actions, and portrayed in various whimsical attitudes; and they are adorned with several evident symbols of the religion now prevailing in Hindostan. Above, as in a sky, once probably adorned with gold and azure, are seen floating the children of imagination, genii and dewtahs in multitudes; and along the cornice, in high relief, are the figures of elephants, horses, and lions, executed with great accuracy. Two of the principal figures at Salsette are twenty-seven feet in height, and of proportionate magnitude; the very bust only of the triple-headed deity, in the grand pagoda of Elephanta, measures fifteen feet from the base to the top of the cap; while the face of another, if Mr. Grose, who measured it, may be credited, is above five feet in length, and of corresponding breadth. Many of these figures, however, have been deeply injured by Mahometan and Portuguese in

vaders.

The entrance into most of those caverns is now obstructed by grass and high reeds, which must be burned before a secure passage can be made. They are the resort of the cattle who feed upon that island, when annoyed by the intense beams of the sun or wintry tempests, and are not unfrequently visited by wild beasts and venemous reptiles. Captain Hamilton informs us, that upon his entrance into the pagoda of Elephanta he discharged a pistol, on purpose to drive away