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cried to him, Here, take these children; cut their throats, or do what you will with them; their fathers have lost caste : our children will be abandoned; nobody will marry them; and what good will they do us?" Indeed, so hot a persecution was raised against the new proselytes, and so bitterly estranged were their families from them, that they were obliged to fly from their native village; two turned back to idolatry, but one of these soon repented, and again renounced it; the third continued steadfast, and has hitherto given the most satisfactory proofs of the genuineness of his conversion. At the little town of Petta there are two schools, containing thirty boys, under Christian instruction; and Mr. Taylor daily meets the adults (such as will hear him), to converse with them on things that pertain to salvation. As the Hindoo converts are not suffered to draw water from the public wells, Mr. T. has been obliged to dig one expressly for their use.

April 13. Leaving Belgaum, we journeyed on towards Goa. The climate in this part of India is very fine, and the country beautifully diversified with hill and dale, trees and streams. The thermometer this morning, at sunrise, was down at 71°, with a fresh sea-breeze blowing from the westward. The buffaloes, in all these torrid regions, are remarkably fond of water, and when they can find a river or a pool, they may be seen standing or lying in it, with their nostrils only above the surface, to allow them to breathe. Like swine, also, they love to wallow in the mire, and plaster their hides all over with fresh mud, to keep themselves cool. Today we passed a herd of these animals, ruminating in a shallow river. A man was throwing water over the body of one of them, and rubbing down its limbs, while another stood by, so impatient to enjoy the same luxurious handling, that it would scarcely allow the drover to finish his work with the former-biting, and pawing, and moaning till its turn

came.

On many trees we observe ants' nests, of great size, hanging like fruits from the branches. These are most ingeniously compacted of leaves, lapping over each other, like tiles on the roof of a house, and firmly agglutinated by matter which oozes from the bodies of the architects themselves. The nests are of an oval form, of a dark color, and as big as a man's hat. When disturbed in their airy citadels, the insect-garrisons become exceedingly fierce, and make such

annoying resistance that it is not wise either for man or monkey to meddle with them. Large ground-ants swarm every where; their habitations are really deserving the name of hills, being heaped up, in great bulk, about the roots of trees, and often crowned with many conic spires-like Alpine peaks, on a small scale.

We passed a party of Brinjaries,-a class of gipsies who act as carriers of rice, salt, &c., which they transport through the provinces on bullocks. They never locate themselves, or live in houses, but wander from place to place, with their wives, and children, and cattle, pitching or striking their tents where they can find pasture, employment, or repose, as they want one or other of these. The men carry upon their backs gaily-ornamented bags, and other finery; while the women are fond of sporting unwieldy ear-rings and bracelets. These people, in times of war, are found of great service in collecting supplies, and removing baggage, in the train of armies.

CHAPTER XLVII.

Arrival at Goa-Condition of Inhabitants-Buildings of the InquisitionVisit to the Dungeons, &c.-Roman Catholics in India-Visit Cannonmore-Lion-ant-An Anecdote-Vengeance of an ElephantDestruction of Tigers-Pendulous Bees Nests-Fish fed by the Hand-Arrival at Mysore-Royal Elephant-carriage--Pagoda-Animal-fights-Colossal Bull-image-Seringa patam-Whimsical Mistake-Ants' Nests-Cameleon--Nilgherry Mountains--Boa-constrictor--Scarecrows-Civet Cats-Cape Camorin-Right and Lefthand Castes--Hindoo Covetousness.

April 16. BOATS having been engaged to take us and our palanquins down the river from Assunwarra to Goa, a distance of fourteen miles, we embarked very early, reached the harbor soon after day-break, and landed at the admiral's stairs. The eldest of three brothers occupies the official house, and enjoys the honor of being admiral, under the Portuguese government here, which, however, is little encumbered with duties. Having letters of introduction to this gentleman, he received us with great courtesy, and to his countenance we were, in a considerable measure, indebted for much respect and attention shown to us by other persons of authority in Goa.

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April 17. The extent of the Portuguese territory on the continent of India is about seventy miles along the coast, and twenty-three miles inland. The population is reckoned to be two hundred and seventy thousand, of which the small island of Goa comprehends seventeen thousand. The latter is two leagues in length from east to west, and half as much from north to south. The harbor, which was once the rendezvous of ships laden with all the treasures of the east, is now filling up with sand, and has little more than four fathoms of water. There are computed to be eight hundred Roman Catholic priests in the Portuguese domains; Mahommedans and Gentoos are tolerated, but not allowed to decorate their mosques or temples with external signs of what they are, nor to celebrate their respective festivals by processions in public. The proportion of professors of Christianity, Islamism, and Hindoo idolatry, we have not learnt. There is not one printing-press throughout Portuguese India; we may add, almost as a matter of course in this age of the world, that the state of knowledge, of morals, and of civil polity, must be exceedingly low.

April 18. Accompanied by signor Cypriano, secretary to the government, and Mr. Tasker, our missionary friend, we visited several churches and convents, the venerable relics of former days of Portuguese glory. On these, however, we could not look without painful historical associations, which made us feel little regret that such glory had passed away, and that such power as once had been exercised here for purposes of secular and priestly aggrandizement, by the oppression, plunder, and persecution of the unhappy people who were its subjects, was utterly, and we trust for ever, extinct. At the magnificent convent of St. Dominic, we were kindly entertained by the vicar-general. He is from Macao, and, as his features indicate, of Chinese descent; he is a middle-aged, clever, well-informed man, and of pleasant manners. Conversing respecting the late inquisition here, he expressed himself in decided terms of abhorrence of the cruelty which formerly made it infamous, and of satisfaction that such a nuisance had been abolished, frankly designating that engine of abused ecclesiastical authority an infernal thing. He had read Dr. Buchanan's Researches, and observed that with the exception of a few immaterial errors, his account of this horrible tribunal was correct. After dinner, we had much discourse respecting the several versions 13

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of the Scriptures into Chinese and the various dialects of India and China. A copy was produced by Mr. Taylor (our missionary travelling-companion at this time) in the Portuguese language, published by the Bible Society. On noticing the name of the translator, the vicar-general asked if it were a fact that the work had been executed by that person. We assured him that he might rely upon that, as the Bible Society was under the direction of men who were incapable of imposing a forgery upon the public. The Roman Catholics present then spoke very highly of the person alluded to; and one of them emphatically remarked, that "Purgatory itself could not speak against that translation."

In the evening we went to survey, without fear of consequences, the buildings of the once-dreaded inquisition. These are of plain masonry, of various heights and irregular form, approaching to that of a parallelogram, three hundred and twenty feet on the north front, and a hundred and seventy-five at the east end. The principal entrance, facing the city cathedral, is through a large portal of stone. The doors had not only been locked, but nailed up! Signor Cypriano, however, before our arrival, had ordered them to be opened by a skilful artisan. What were our feelings on stepping within the hideous inclosure! Nothing but ruin instantly met our eyes. The roof had fallen in; the floors were every where giving way, and the walls were mouldering towards early destruction; while shrubs and creepers were growing luxuriantly upon the tottering masses, and through the ruptured battlements. The great hall had been stripped of its gloomy magnificence-a painted surface, consisting of a few triangular figures, alone remaining; while the rotten floor, overgrown with grass, felt scarcely safe to tread upon; indeed, it was with some degree of trepidation that we walked across the various apartments through which we were led, the crazy timbers and floors frequently creaking and yielding, as though they would have failed beneath our feet. Descending to the dungeons below, it was with difficulty we could make our way from one recess to another, doors, walls, and ceilings mingling their materials together in heaps of rubbish. At length we found a narrow staircase which conducted us to the principal cells-the deepest, darkest, strongest holds of this castle of Giant Despair. These were formed below the level of the ground, and consist of three rows, each containing six cells, ten feet square below, by fifteen

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feet high, with arched roofs, and small, iron-barred windows, to admit a little air and less light; indeed, on first entering one of these dens, we could scarcely see each other, or distinguish the forlorn dimensions. All the doors have been removed; but it was apparent that, besides locks and bolts two heavy wooden bars had been employed to fasten them on the outside. The cells stand in three parallel lines, having the same aspect, so that the doors of one row face the back of the row before them, preventing the possibility of communication between the prisoners confined in the one with those confined in the other. The walls are very thick. A verandah, five feet wide, supported by pillars, extends in front of each row of cells; and between the verandah and the row beyond is an area of the same breadth. At right angles with these, and at either end, are two other ranges, each containing seven distinct dungeons. One of these latter had been employed as the room for examining the miserable beings that fell into the clutches of the inquisitors, by the torture. This was indicated by a broad black stripe all about the upper part of the walls, with similar stripes extending from angle to angle, and crossing in the middle. In the roof of this apartment there is a small, square aperture, through which, it is said, the inhuman judges listened to the confessions, the groans, and shrieks of their agonized victims, while the rope and the rack stretched their limbs to dislocation, or torments more exquisite, by fire and steel, were inflicted upon them. Over these five rows of cells there have been upper stories, now dilapidated, which appear to have been of the same construction, and for the same purposes, as the lower. This place, however, viewed merely as a prison, if kept clean, might have afforded as much personal comfort as is consistent with close confinement; while, being in the centre of the other buildings, it might be said to be hermetically sealed to cut off the possibility of escape. The last auto da fe, or public execution of condemned persons, here, took place in 1777, from which time, till the holy office was absolutely abolished, by the interference of the British government, in 1811, the bodies of the wretches that perished within the walls of the inquisition here, either under the torture, or by direct violence, or from heart-breaking captivity, are said to have been thrown into a very deep tank, within the precincts of the dungeon-quarter. The original structure was the palace of a Mahommedan prince; afterwards