"tries were deluged in blood, in the vain hope, that by "the destruction of a part, the remainder might be per"suaded, or terrified, into the profession of Mahomedism; "but all these sanguinary effects were ineffectual; and at "length, being fully convinced, that though they might "extirpate, they could never hope to convert, any number "of the Hindoos, they relinquished the impracticable idea, "with which they had entered upon their career of con"quest, and contented themselves with the acquirement of "the civil dominion and almost universal empire of Hin "dostan." HAMILTON. -Letters from a Hindoo Rajah, by ELIZA NOTE m, p. 42. And brav'd the stormy spirit of the Cape. See the description of the Cape of Good Hope, trans lated from CAMOENS, by MICKLE. NOTE n, p. 43. While famish'd nations died along the shore. The following account of British conduct, and its con sequences, in Bengal, will afford a sufficient idea of the fact alluded to in this passage. After describing the monopoly of salt, betel nut, and tobacco, the historian proceeds thus." Money in this cur"rent came but by drops; it could not quench the thirst "of those who waited in India to receive it. An expedi❝ent, such as it was, remained to quicken its pace. The "natives could live with little salt, but could not want "food. Some of the agents saw themselves well situated "for collecting the rice into stores; they did so. They "knew the Gentoos would rather die than violate the prin"ciples of their religion by eating flesh. The alternative "would therefore be between giving what they had, or "dying. The inhabitants sunk ;-they that cultivated the "land, and saw the harvest at the disposal of others, "planted in doubt-scarcity ensued. << was easier managed-sickness ensued. Then the monopoly In some districts "the languid living left the bodies of their numerous dead "unburied." -Short History of the English transactions in the East Indies, page 145. NOTE o, p. 44. Nine times have Brama's wheels of lightning hurl'd Ilis awful presence o'er the alarmed world. Among the sublime fictions of the Hindoo mythology, it is one article of belief, that the deity Brama has descended nine times upon the world in various forms, and that he is yet to appear a tenth time, in the figure of a warrior upon a white horse, to cut off all incorrigible offenders. Avatar is the word used to express his descent. |