ON THE HINDU WORSHIP, AND THE
MANNERS OF THE BRAMINS.

[From Dubois's India.]

ing round of diversions; the sight of an immense assembly, where numbers of the wealthy contend with each other for the palm of luxurious extravagance and shew; and above all, the extreme license which The very extravagance of the Hindu prevails through all classes, and the facility idolatry, the whole ritual of which is with which every individual can humour nothing less than the subversion of com- the bent of his desires: all these things are mon sense, serves to give it a deeper root infinitely delightful to a people who have in the hearts of a people, sensual, enthu no relish for any pleasure but that of the siastic, and fond of the marvellous. They senses. They fly to these festivals, therecannot see, in all the world, a religion fore, from all quarters. Even the poor preferable to their own; and, infatuated husbandman, to whom, with a numerous with their idols, they shut their ears to family, the scanty crop scarcely affords the voice of nature, which cries so loudly subsistence through the course of the year, against it. But the Hindus are still more forgetful of his future wants, sells a part of irresistably attached to the species of ido-his stock for a contribution to this ridiculatry which they have embraced, by their uniform pride, sensuality and licentiousness. Whatever their religion sets before them tends to encourage these vices; and, consequently, all their senses, passions, and interests are leagued in its favour. It is made up of diversion and amusement. Dances, shews, and lewdness accompany it, and form a part of the divine worship. Their festivals are nothing but sports; and, on no occasion of life, are modesty and decorum more carefully excluded than during the celebration of their religious mys-oracles are managed by some expert Brahteries. How can a people, ignorant of all enjoyment but that of seusual gratification, fail to be attached to a religion so indulgent to its peculiar passions?

Interest, also, that powerful engine, which puts in motion all human things, is a principal support of the edifice of Hindu idolatry. Those who are at the head of this extravagant worship, most of them conscious of its absurdity, are the most zealous in promoting its diffusion, because it affords them the means of living. Such impostors will suffer no opportunity to escape, by which they may more deeply infatuate the people with the idolatry and superstition in which they have been bred. Well acquainted with the sway which their seuses maintain over them, they take care to accompany the public rites and ceremonies with all the pomp and splendor which can impose upon their fancy. These artifices are employed, above all, in some celebrated pagodas. The persons who preside there, who live the year round in voluptuous indolence, upon the abundant offsprings brought to them on the anniversary of their festival, spare no pains to gratify the superstition which animates their votaries. Triumphal cars, superbly decorated in the Hindu fashion, on which their idols are placed in all their splendid finery, are exposed to public veneration. Songs, dances, shews, fire-works, and an unceas

lous worship, and for offerings to the impostors who thus entertain them at the expense of the public credulity.

In the several pagodas, the Brahmans, who are the principal ministers, omit no imposture to keep up the popular credulity, aud to allure votaries to the worship of that deity by which they live. For this purpose, they resort to various means; amongst which may be enumerated the oracles, which they ascribe to their deities, and the miracles which they perform. The

mans, who understand this sort of roguery, and contrive to introduce some person within the images, which are generally hollow, or conceal themselves hard by so as not to be observed, and, from that concealment, harangue the multitude; all of whom firmly believe that it is the image himself that speaks, and therefore listen to the oracular admonition with awful silence. The impostors who carry on this deception, sometimes take upon themselves to predict future events, but in so obscure and ambiguous a way, that, however the issue may turn out, they may always have it in their power to make it accord with their predictions. But the most successful artifice is generally in causing complaints to be made to the idol, that the number of his votaries and the value of their offerings are decreasing. They represent him as saying, in reply, that if the zeal of the people does not wax warmer, and the offerings increase instead of falling off, he will quit the temple, abandon a people so ungrateful for bis protection, and retire into some other country where he will be better received. At other times the priests put the idols in irons, chaining their hands and feet. They exhibit them to the people in this humiliating state, into which they tell them they have been brought by rigorous creditors, from whom their gods had been obliged, in times of trouble, to borrow money to sup

port their wants. They declare that the inexorable creditors refuse to set the god at liberty until the whole sum, with interest, shall have been paid. The people come forward, alarmed at the sight of their divinity in irons, and, thinking it the most meritorious of all good works to contribute to his deliverance, they raise the sum required by the Brahmans for that purpose; and this being settled, the chains are soon dissolved and the idol restored to liberty.

One of their occult sacrifices, says the Abbé, is that to the saktis; a word which signifies force or power. Sometimes it is the wife of Vishnu, and sometimes the wife of Siva that the votaries pretend to honour by this sacrifice; but the primary object

to recal her, or to find fault with what is going on. The women are there in com mon. All casts are confounded, and the Braman is not above the Pariah.

It cannot well be doubted that these enthusiasts endeavour by their infamous sacrifices, to cover with the veil of religion the two ruling passions, lust and the love of intoxicating liquor. It is also certain that the Brahmans, and particularly certain women of the cast, are the directors of those horrible mysteries of iniquity. Fortunately the great expense of these ceremonies prevents their frequent recur. rence.

LAND.

[From Fabricius.]

appears to be the worship of some certain INCREASE OF THE INLAND-ICE OF GREENinvisible force represented by the emblems of power and strength. It is always celebrated with more or less secrecy, and is more and more wicked, in proportion as The land-ice (Fisbræc) in Greenland those who assist at it are deeply initiated is one of the most remarkable phenomena in its attendant mysteries of darkness. The | in nature, and in extent far exceeds any least detestable of the sacrifices made to other hitherto known, running from one the Saktis are those in which the votaries end of the country to the other, and covercontent themselves with eating and drinking it with an eternal ice, leaving only some of every thing, without regard to the usage of the country; and where men and women, huddled promiscuously together, shame lessly violate the sacred laws of decency and modesty.

They bring before the idol Vishnu all sorts of meats that can be procured, without excepting that of the cow. They likewise provide abundance of arrack, the brandy of the country; of toddy; of opium, and several other intoxicating drugs. The whole is presented to Vishnu. Then he who administers, tastes each species of meat and of liquor; after which he gives permission to the worshippers to consume the rest. Then may be seen men and women rushing forward tearing and devouring, One seizes a morsel, and while he gnaws it, another snatches it out of his hands, and thus it passes on from mouth to mouth till it disappears, while fresh mor sels, in succession, are making the same disgusting round. All drink out of the the same cup, one draining what another leaves, in spite of their natural abhorrence of such a practice. When the liquors are exhausted, they have nothing left but to scramble for the leaves of betel. On such Occasions they regard not the pollution that must ensue when they eat and drink in a manner so beastly and disgusting. When arrived at a state of drunkenness, men and women being all indiscriminately mixed, there is no restraint on any sort of A husband sees his wife in the arms of another man, and has not the right

excess.

tops of mountains, which rise black and naked above it. When you ascend any of the highest mountains free from ice on the sea coast a dreadful view is presented. As far as the eye can reach in every direction nothing is seen but a glittering surface, which merits the appellation of an icy ocean.

An

This ice is extending every year, increasing in height as well as breadth, and has already occupied the greatest part of the country. When it meets with high mountains it is checked in its progress till it has reached an equal height, and then proceeds farther without obstruction. experiment has been made of placing a pole in the earth at a considerable distance from the line of ice, and that place has been found occupied by the ice the following year. Its progress is indeed so rapid that Greenlanders, who are still living, remember their fathers hunting rein-deer among naked mountains, which are now completely covered with ice. I have myself seen foot-paths leading to the inland of this part of the country, which are now obstructed by glaciers. It is chiefly in the valleys that the ice is accumulating, and where these reach the sea, and the inner parts of the bays, the ice projects in large blocks over the water. Part of the ice appears to be. even and smooth, particularly in the middle, but a part of it very uneven, especially at the extremities towards the naked land, and in those places, where small hillocks have been covered. But if you proceed farther on the ice, that which seemed to be

mile of land for his own use. This land Disgraceful.-An ordinance has been shall descend to his heirs, if he holds it passed by the city of Savannah, by which during life; but if he abandons it, the go-any person that teaches a person of colour, vernment shall take possession of it. How either a slave or free, to read or write, or large a part of the tribe will migrate we causes such person to be so taught, is subhave no means of judging; nor can it bejected to a fine of thirty dollars for each hastily determined, whether a missionary offence; and every person of colour who establishment will accompany or follow shall keep a school to teach reading or them. The American Board, &c. have it writing is subject to a fine of thirty dollars, in contemplation to establish missionary or be imprisoned ten days and whipped 39 schools among the Choctaws, Chickasaws, lashes. Although it may be for the interest and Creeks, as speedily as possible. It is of slave-holders to keep the unfortunate hoped that an entrance will be made among wretches in as much ignorance as possible, the Choctaws the ensuing autumn. The generally, yet we consider the adoption of government has very kindly and readily such a law as the above as revolting to the engaged to do as much for each of the tribes best feelings of the heart, and a stigma to just mentioned, as was stipulated to be the city which has enacted it. done for the Cherokees; that is, to build a house for the residence of the instructors,

and a school house, and to furnish some implements of husbandry and of domestic economy for the use of the Iudians.

In prosecution of the design to send Missionaries among the Cherokees, as stated above, they have been visited by religious instructors; and a school for the children has been established. These children either speak English well, already, or are taught so to do. They give great satisfaction by their demeanor, and general conduct; and manifest much readiness of memory and talent.

We add a memorandum of the names of some of them; as an instance that may recal to mind the earlier ages of the human

race.

Several of the children Irad Indian names only, which have given place to English ones, viz. Sun-e-ku-yah, Samuel Worcester; Tools-oo-wan, which signifies a red bird, Thomas Basil; Ah-whe-thyah-hee, a deer coming, Jonas Coe; Gh-wa-ser-tas-kee, shaking the bush, Horace Loomis; Ha-khlunah-hee-tah, long hair, James Hervey.

Indian Lands. We are informed, that a large portion of the country lately ceded to the United States by the Cherokee Indians, in exchange for an equal quantity of western land, is found on investigation to be within the limits of the Creek Nation. The conflicting claims of these tribes to the disputed territory has been settled in an amicable manner (although at one time the controversy was likely to produce a war between them) by a council of their respective Chiefs, chosen to discuss and decide the matter. If a suitable indemnity be not made to our government by the Cherokees, the existing treaty with them on this subject, will doubtless be annulled.-Georgia paper, Nov. 4.

completed across the Niagara river, to Goat Falls of Niagara.- A bridge has been island, which divides the river directly at the falls. This safe passage to a site which affords the best view of the astonishing water-fall, will be an additional inducement for visiting the frontier.

Died, a young man by the name of Johnfalls of Niagara, was known to descend the son, a native of Connecticut, visited the ladder below the falls, and has not been heard of since.

EMULATIVE EXPEDITION IN BROAD CLOTH

MANUFACTURE.

It was lately stated, that in England a sheep had been sheared, and a coat completed of the wool, in 18 hours and 20 minutes. At the woollen manufactory at Manchester, New-York, the wool for a and spun-the yarn was warped, put into coat was picked, greased, carded, roped the loom and woven-the cloth was fulled, coloured, four times shorn, pressed and carried to the tailors, and made into a coat, all in 9 hours and 15 minutes. The shearing, if added, might have been done in 10 minutes, and a pair of shoes made of the tanned sheep skin, in about as many hours.

EMULATIVE WAGER; EXPEDITION. The managers of the Ontario manufactory, N. Y. on a wager of 500 dolls, had a piece of handsome broad-cloth manufactured from the raw wool, made up into in 9 hours and 15 seconds. a coat for one of the parties, and exhibited

MATRIMONIAL LOTTERY.

On the 21st day of December last, I was passing through the state of S. Carolina, and in the evening arrived in the suburbs of the town of where I had an acquaintance on whom I called. I was quickly informed that the family was invited to a

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