the last duties of her toilet, which are somewhat onerous; for a Moorish woman indulges freely in the use of rouge, white lead, and powder. Her eyebrows and eyelashes are darkened, the tips of her fingers are painted pink, and her nails are dyed with henna. These operations over, scarf, head-dress and veil are put on by the woman of the highest rank present. The bridal head-dress is formed of pasteboard worked over with silk, and profusely ornamented with jewels: it is very high, and resembles in shape the papal crown. The toilet fairly achieved, the damsel is conducted to the principal apartment, and placed in an arm-chair, raised on a kind of dais about three feet from the floor; a bride's-woman standing on each side, holding in her right hand a long wax-candle, such as those seen on the altars in Catholic churches. There are no bridemaids; their office being always performed by married women virgin eyes not being allowed to gaze on a marriage feast. The important moment was now at hand the moment which was to decide the happiness or misery of the fair timid child, whose youth and beauty it seemed a sin to sacrifice. She was only thirteen years of age.

:

In proportion as the preceding seven days had been joyous, the eighth appeared solemn. The scene seemed to awaken sad memories in the minds of those present. In the expression of one woman I fancied I could read a mother's grief for her dishonored child in another, imagination conjured up a wife weeping over her childless state; and-in the latter-I was not mistaken, for I was afterward informed that the beautiful, pensive-looking woman -whose dress we admired—had just been divorced from her husband, having been wedded two years without presenting him with a representative of his name. This alone was ground for divorce.

All eyes were now turned toward the door: the betrothed peered through her veil, as anxious to behold the ceremony as we were; and, as eight o'clock struck, the Rabbi entered, followed by the bridegroom. Taking his place in front of the bride's

chair, the bridegroom standing on his right, and the guests in a circle round him; the Rabbi read aloud from the Hebraic ritual the moral and social duties to be observed by the man and wife. The greater part of the service is chanted-all present lending their voices. A massive gold ring, of a strange form, was given, to be worn on the forefinger of the right hand. The service ended, the bride was carried in her chair of state to the chamber where she had been exhibited during the preceding week; and-halting on the threshold-a piece of sugar was given to her by the Rabbi, who, taking a full glass of water, at the same time broke the glass over her head. The sugar is typical of the sweets of Hymen: the water of its purity and the broken glass of the irrevocable character of the ceremony. The bride was then placed again upon the bed, and her mother took her place beside her, as if to guard the precious treasure until called upon to resign her to her husband.

The ceremony of the sugar and broken glass only appertains to Jewish weddings. The cutting off the betrothed's hair is also peculiar to them: but many of the Moorish and ancient Jewish rites have become identical. The eight days' feasting and the exclusion of male visitors are alike common to both. A pair of female slippers placed on the threshold of the door is a sign that no male visitor above the age of twelve may cross it. The costume of the Moorish and Jewish bride is also the same, except that women of the Shreefian family-or those descended from the Prophet-wear green. In rich families, the wedding is always followed by horse-races and fireworks. The women look on closely veiled, or-more correctly-sheeted. The bride is carried through the streets in procession, to the sound of music, in a sort of Punch-theatre, placed on the back of a horse. If the procession pass a mosque, all the persons composing it are obliged to take off their shoes and walk barefooted. Lastly-the Moorish bride on arriving at her husband's house is lifted over the threshold of the door, lest she should stumble while entering, which would be a fearful omen.

No sooner had our detachment crossed the rocky bed of the Kishnah, and ascended the table-land beyond, than we found ourselves in quite a different climate from the Carnatic. We now inhaled a dry and bracing atmosphere; the mornings and evenings were deliciously cool, and a blanket proved, under canvas, a not superfluous covering at night-for it happened to be at that delightful period of the year when Nature, in these sunny regions of the East, is still arrayed in all her gayest holyday garb-the verdant garlands with which she is then decked out not being yet faded by the withering influence of that simoom-like blast, which, periodically sweeping across the desert, soon licks up with fiery breath every sign of verdure and vegetation, leaving—except where patches of hardy jungle intervene-naught

over which the eye can rest save a brown, arid, and burnt-up soil, here and there dotted with still more bare, brown, and desolate-looking masses of stone and rock.

I must not, however, anticipate. On crossing the Kishnah, we entered a region quite different in feature and aspect from that which we had hitherto traversed since leaving the Coromandel coast. High, undulating tracts of land-in some parts covered with low thorny thickets, in others (at this season of the year) with high waving grass, amidst which might occasionally be caught a glimpse of the grace ful antelope, or from whence the florikan and bustard were sometimes flushed; whilst peering from an ocean of jungle verdure-like the back of a huge whale some dark denuded mass of rock, all bristling with native battlements and forts, would occasionally protrude from the surrounding jungle or "meidan,"* and pleasingly diversify the scene.

The nature of the vegetation, and agricultural products of the country, appeared likewise to be completely changed, the moment we entered the "Deccan," from what we had been accustomed to witness in the low and level plains of the Carnatic, which we had so recently left behind. The cultivation of

* A Persian term, much used in Hindostan, and signifying a plain open space of ground.

measure disappeared, and was replaced in the low grounds by waving fields of Indian corn, and occasionally-though as yet but rarely-by the tall and graceful sugar-cane; whilst Bengal gram,† and other stunted pulse, marked the sites of the higher, and consequently drier and more arid portions of the cultivated soil.

The feathery cocoa-nut and fan-like palmyra of the lower country had now given way to the no less serviceable-and hardly less beautiful-date-tree, which, although in this part of the world yielding a scarcely palatable fruit, is nevertheless applied to an infinity of useful purposes, and yields, moreover, a very considerable revenue to the state. For each individual of these

"Groups of lovely date-trees,'

Bending their leaf-crowned heads
On youthful maids, like sleep descending,
To warn them to their silken beds,"

was taxed to the annual amount of one rupee, which sum was strictly exacted from the poor oppressed

Ryot, by the zemindar intrusted with the collection of the revenue of each particular district of the Nizam's dominions.

To the casual inquirer it might appear that such an

impost would amount to almost a prohibition on the

culture of this tree; they nevertheless abound in all parts of the country adapted to their growth; and this can only be accounted for, from the numerous and manifold purposes to which every portion of it is usefully and profitably applied. The fruit, although in this part of the world coarse and rough to the taste, is nevertheless made use of for different purposes by the natives; the stems and leaves are severally converted into baskets and mats, and are likewise emduce of the Indian date-tree is the "tara," or, as ployed to roof their lowly huts; but the chief procalled in English, "toddy," it so plentifully yields, and which is extracted by making deep incisions in the trunk, for here

"The date,' that graceful dryad of the woods, Within whose bosom infant Bacchus broods," when thus tapped, readily gives forth a sweet, pleasant, and abundant beverage, which, if partaken of at the cool hour of early morn, is both refreshing and salubrious, but soon becomes a deleterious and in

† A sort of pea, on which the horses are fed in India, and which in Spain, under the denomination of “ bansos," constitutes a general article of human food.

"gar

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to the powerful rays of a tropical sun. The tara, or toddy, in this condition is a liquor much sought after, and often conducive to great irregularity and crime amidst English soldiery in the East; and the vicinity of a "toddy tope," or date-grove, should for this reason be sedulously avoided in the pitching of a camp. On entering the Nizam's dominions, after the passage of the Kishnah, the sportsmen of our party found ample scope for the employment of their fowlingpieces; for although snipe and water-fowl were here much more scarce than in the low ground of the Carnatic, this deficiency was amply made up, in the far greater abundance of larger and nobler game. The rangers of the "meidan," or open grassy "prairies," through which the line of march would now often lie for miles, therein found abundance of hares, of partridges, and every variety of quail-occasionally got a shot at a florikan, or a bustard; sometimes even stalked an antelope; and enjoyed occasionally an opportunity of breathing their nags in a gallop after the dog-hyena, the wily little Indian fox, or a skulking jackal. Such as adventured into the jungle in quest of painted partridge or pea-fowl, sometimes recounted on their return to camp, that they had witnessed indubitable traces of animals of a more formidable kind, and described the appearance of what they concluded must be the foot-marks of the royal tiger, which they had seen imprinted in the sandy bed of the dry "nullahs," or water-courses they had traversed during their sporting excursions from the camp.

Although these conjectures of being occasionally on the trail of a "Bagh," (as the royal tiger is called in India) were repeatedly confirmed by the protestations of such of the camp-followers and other natives who might have been employed as "beaters," still such complete "Griffins"* were we all, that we could not bring ourselves to the belief of being actually in the vicinity-perhaps often within the spring-of so dangerous a customer, as, even in our profound ignorance, we were all perfectly aware that a royal tiger must undoubtedly have proved.

Rife with the impression that all "natives" are necessarily liars by nature, without any "old hand" in Indian sports, to instruct and inform us of the real state of things; and in spite of the repeated warnings we received from our servants and camp-followers, we began, after a few marches north of the Kishnah, to be extremely sceptical as to the very existence of any tigers, near so much-frequented a thoroughfare as that between Hyderabad and Madras; and it was only after a laughable adventure, which might have been attended with fatal results, that we at last found out our mistake.

Our camp was, on the occasion here alluded to, pitched near a large village, or more strictly speaking, a small Mahommedan town, situated between two lofty hills, composed of those bare and gigantic masses of granite, so characteristic of the strange geological features of this part of the country. I am however

A term usually applied to a new-comer in India, and having a synonymous meaning to that of "greenhorn."

and denuded masses of blackened rock. The most northerly of the two possessed, in a most remarkable degree, those stern features of aridity, but the crest of its opposite neighbor, crowned with ruins-apparently the remains of some old stronghold or castle -rose from amidst huge chaotic masses of granite, whose interstices nourished the growth of innumerable parasitical lianes and creeping plants, mostly of a thorny or prickly nature; amongst which the wild cactus might be distinguished, even from the valley beneath, as luxuriantly flourishing and widely spreading its fantastic, fleshy, and thorn-covered growth.

The tents, pitched in the valley formed by those "ruins of some former world," had the full benefit of the refracted heat emanating from both; and to this moment I can well remember the grilling we underwent on that day, and the delight with which we hailed the prospect of the declining sun, in order to be able to sally forth, and take our usual evening stroll.

Accompanied by the assistant-surgeon doing duty with the detachment-a remarkably short and corpu lent personage from the "land o' cakes," who stuttered intolerably, besides speaking the broadest Scotch-accompanied by this nondescript character, who, with all his national peculiarities, was, however, a most excellent fellow, and whom, for want of a better "nom de guerre," I shall here designate as Doctor Macgillivan; and attended by a single "ghorawallah," or "saïs" (Anglice, horsekeeper or groom) did I, at the period in question, sally forth from the stifling atmosphere of my tent, in order to breathe the cooling and refreshing evening breeze. Thus accompanied, the doctor and myself bent our footsteps toward the native town, in the vicinity of which our camp had been pitched. We were soon within the precincts of its narrow streets, and wandering through a densely-crowded bazaar.

To a "tazawallah" (a native term corresponding to that of a "Johnny Newcome")-to a young hand lately imported from Europe-in short, to the animal commonly yclept a "Griffin," in the East, the usual resort of a large concourse of natives generally presents an untiring source of interest and amusement. The different strange sights, sounds and "smells," which meet the eye, the ear, and the olfactories of the uninitiated, would in themselves require a long chapter to describe.

This was the first place of any size or note we had yet visited since entering the domains of His Highness the Nizam; and a single glance, as we sauntered along the bazaars, sufficed to show that we were amongst a people quite different from the long-subdued, slavish, and submissive Hindoo inhabitants of the Carnatic.

Here the general outward characteristics of the natives appeared to be a loftier bearing, and a lighter hue of complexion to what we had hitherto seen within the territories of the Company, to the northward of Madras. The predominant race—at least in the town itself-were (as Chiniah, my horsekeeper, informed us) followers of the Prophet-haughty

ments

"Hout mon! ye dinna mean to say so!" stuttered out the doctor, "come away then, we 'll hae nothing to say to such chiels, for I dinna at all fancy the treatment o' sic' like kind of wounds."

"Come along then, doctor-this way!" said I, perfectly agreeing with him in his conclusions; "but, Chiniah, what are yonder two groups of men in the choultrie, with plenty match-locks, swords, daggers, pistols, and shields?" asked I, pointing to two armed and distinct parties, who appeared to have lately arrived from a long and wearisome march; for they looked way-worn, covered with dust and sweat, and were now apparently preparing to rest, after the toil and heat of the day, but in different compartments of the same "choultrie" or caravanserai: one of those edifices appropriated in the East for the public use of all travelers.

"Ahi! Saïb, come this way!" earnestly said Chiniah, "neber go near them fellow. Deccannee Moormen-they big rascal: them fellow Seikhs and Arabs, bigger rascal still them cut every man's, every woman's throat: them cut master's throat if fancy take 'em!"

"Hout mon! come away," interposed the doctor. "But, Chiniah," inquired I, "how do you know so much about these people, whom I suppose you have never seen before?"

"I plenty know: I stop five year at Secunderabad in service of Captain M―; him one great shikarree gentleman; him plenty hunt, plenty shoot, plenty trabel, plenty speak Hindostanee. I plenty march with him-I plenty better than English speak Hindostanee-when master learn Hindostanee I can then plenty tings tell."

Chiniah, who remained afterward for years in my service, told the truth; he had really been long as saïs, or groom, in the service of one of the keenest and best sportsmen of the Deccan; and, as I subsequently became initiated into the "woodland craft" of this part of the world, I found him invaluable from his local knowledge, his capability of enduring fatigue, and often from the presence of mind which, on an emergency, he has more than once displayed. *Meaning "Nazarenes," or Christians, who are likewise denominated "Ferringhees," or Franks.

As my worthy friend Dr. Macgillivan expressed an equally great aversion to the treatment of gun-shot or match-lock wounds, as he had previously manifested for such as were inflicted by the sharp edge of a Damascus blade, we willingly turned from this dangerous locality, to perambulate the more peaceful regions of the much-frequented bazaar.

In passing through Southern India, the traveler, although he generally carries with him his own supplies, is never in want of the actual necessaries of life; he can generally procure rice and ghee, fowls and eggs, or an occasional sheep; but to every thing in the shape of luxuries-unless we include what he has providently furnished himself with-he must make up his mind to be a perfect stranger; and even fruit of the commonest description is seldom to be had.

Since our departure from Madras, it was only at the large stations of Nellore and Ongole that we had been able to procure this desirable accessory to our daily meals; and we now, therefore, gladly hastened toward a stall, on which were most invitingly displayed pieces of water-melon and sugar-cane, guavas, custard-apples, sweet lemons, plantains or bananas, and—what I have never before seen used as an article of food-the fruit of the cactus, or prickly-pear tree, which Chiniah assured us to be most palatable, and "very good body for!" provided no other beverage were used to wash it down, save the "pure element" in an unmixed and undiluted state.

Purchases of the tempting goods spread out before us, were soon made, with directions to have them sent immediately to camp; but in settling our account with the worthy retailer of the treasures of Vertumnus and Pomona, we were not a little surprised at the much higher value he set on the produce of the cactus, beyond that of his other horticultural stores.

On inquiring, through the medium of Chiniah, as to the reason of this difference of price, when from the very spot where we then stood, we could see the prickly-pear trees-the sources from whence this store of riches was derived-flourishing in all the