A Woman's Journey Round the World Part 18

But let me return to Candy. In a second temple, adjoining that in which the relic is preserved, are two gigantic hollow statues of the G.o.d Buddha in a sitting posture, and both are said to be formed of the finest gold. Before these colossi stand whole rows of smaller Buddhas, of crystal, gla.s.s, silver, copper, and other materials. In the entrance hall, likewise, are several stone statues of different G.o.ds, with other ornaments, most of them roughly and stiffly executed. In the middle stands a small plain monument of stone, resembling a bell turned upside down; it is said to cover the grave of a Brahmin.

On the outer walls of the princ.i.p.al temple are wretched daubs in fresco, representing the state of eternal punishment. Some of the figures are being roasted, twitched with red-hot pincers, partly baked, or forced to swallow fire. Others again, are jammed between rocks, or having pieces of flesh cut out of their bodies, etc., but fire appears to play the princ.i.p.al part in these punishments.

The doors of the princ.i.p.al temple are made of metal, and the door posts of ivory. On the first are the most beautiful arabesques in ba.s.so-relief, and on the second, in inlaid work, representing flowers and other objects. Before the princ.i.p.al entrance, four of the largest elephant's teeth ever found are stuck up by way of ornament.

Ranged round the court-yard are the tents of the priests, who always go about with bare, shaven heads, and whose costume consists of a light yellow upper garment, which nearly covers the whole body. It is said that there were once 500 officiating priests in this temple; at present the divinity is obliged to content himself with a few dozen.

The chief part of the religious ceremonies of the Buddhists consists in presents of flowers and money. Every morning and evening a most horrible instrument, fit to break the drum of one's ear, and called a tam-tam, together with some shrill trumpets and fifes, is played before the door of the temple. To this soon succeeds a crowd of people from all sides, bringing baskets full of the most beautiful flowers, with which the priests adorn the altars, and that in a manner so elegant and tasty, that it cannot be surpa.s.sed.

Besides this temple, there are several others in Candy, but only one worth noticing. This is situated at the foot of a rocky hill, out of which has been hewn a statue of Buddha, thirty-six feet high, and over this is built the temple, which is small and elegant. The G.o.d is painted with the most glaring colours. The walls of the temple are covered with handsome red cement, and portioned out into small panels, in all of which the G.o.d Buddha appears al fresco. There are also a few portraits of Vischnu, another G.o.d. The colours on the southern wall of the temple are remarkable for their fine state of preservation.

Here, likewise, there is a funeral monument, like that of the Temple of Dagoha, not however, in the building itself, but under the lofty firmament of heaven, and shaded by n.o.ble trees.

Attached to the temples are frequently schools, in which the priests fulfil the duties of teachers. Near this particular temple, we saw about a dozen boys--girls are not allowed to attend school--busy writing. The copies for them were written very beautifully, by means of a stylus, on small palm-leaves, and the boys used the same material.

It is well worth any person's while to walk to the great valley through which the Mahavilaganga flows. It is intersected with a countless number of wave-like hills, many of which form regular terraces, and are planted with rice or coffee. Nature is here young and vigorous, and amply rewards the planter's toil. The darker portions of the picture are composed of palms or other trees, and the back-ground consists partly of towering mountains, in a holiday suit of green velvet, partly of stupendous and romantic rocks in all their gloomy nakedness.

I saw many of the princ.i.p.al mountains in Ceylon--giants, 8,000 feet high; but, unfortunately, not the most celebrated one, Adam's Peak, which has an alt.i.tude of 6,500 feet, and which, towards the summit is so steep, that it was necessary, in order to enable any one to climb up, to cut small steps in the rock, and let in an iron chain.

But the bold adventurer is amply repaid for his trouble. On the flat summit of the rock is the imprint of a _small_ foot, five feet long. The Mahomedans suppose it to be that of our vigorous progenitor, Adam, and the Buddhists that of their large-toothed divinity, Buddha. Thousands of both sects flock to the place every year, to perform their devotions.

There still exists at Candy the palace of the former king, or emperor of Ceylon. It is a handsome stone building, but with no peculiar feature of its own; I should have supposed that it had been built by Europeans. It consists of a ground floor, somewhat raised, with large windows, and handsome porticoes resting upon columns.

The only remarkable thing about it is a large hall in the interior, with its walls decorated with some rough and stiffly executed representations of animals in relief. Since the English deposed the native sovereign, the palace has been inhabited by the English resident, or governor.

Had I only arrived a fortnight sooner, I should have witnessed the mode of hunting, or rather snaring, elephants. The scene of operations is a spot on the banks of some stream or other, where these animals go to drink. A large place is enclosed with posts, leading up to which, and also skirted by stout posts, are a series of narrow pa.s.sages. A tame elephant, properly trained, is then made fast in the middle of the large s.p.a.ce, to entice by his cries the thirsty animals, who enter unsuspiciously the labyrinth from which they cannot escape, as the hunters and drivers follow, alarm them by their shouts, and drive them into the middle of the enclosure. The finest are taken alive, by being deprived of food for a short time.

This renders them so obedient, that they quietly allow a noose to be thrown over them, and then follow the tame elephant without the least resistance. The others are then either killed or set at liberty, according as they possess fine tusks or not.

The preparations for capturing these animals sometimes last several weeks, as, besides enclosing the spot selected, a great many persons are employed to hunt up the elephants far and wide, and drive them gradually to the watering place.

Persons sometimes go elephant-hunting, armed merely with firearms; but this is attended with danger. The elephant, as is well known, is easily vulnerable in one spot only,--the middle of the skull. If the hunter happens to hit the mark, the monster lies stretched before him at the first shot; but if he misses, then woe to him, for he is speedily trampled to death by the enraged beast. In all other cases the elephant is very peaceable, and is not easily induced to attack human beings.

The Europeans employ elephants to draw and carry burdens--an elephant will carry forty hundred-weight; but the natives keep them more for show and riding.

I left Candy after a stay of three days, and returned to Colombo, where I was obliged to stop another day, as it was Sunday, and there was no mail.

I profited by this period to visit the town, which is protected by a strong fort. It is very extensive; the streets are handsome, broad, and clean; the houses only one story high, and surrounded by verandahs and colonnades. The population is reckoned at about 80,000 souls, of whom about 100 are Europeans, exclusive of the troops, and 200 descendants of Portuguese colonists, who founded a settlement here some centuries ago. The complexion of the latter is quite as dark as that of the natives themselves.

In the morning I attended ma.s.s. The church was full of Irish soldiers and Portuguese. The dress of the Portuguese was extremely rich; they wore ample robes with large folds, and short silk jackets; in their ears hung ear-rings of pearls and diamonds, and round their necks, arms, and even ankles, were gold and silver chains.

In the afternoon I took a walk to one of the numerous cinnamon plantations round Colombo. The cinnamon tree or bush is planted in rows; it attains at most a height of nine feet, and bears a white, scentless blossom. From the fruit, which is smaller than an acorn, oil is obtained by crus.h.i.+ng and boiling it; the oil then disengages itself and floats on the top of the water. It is mixed with cocoa- oil and used for burning.

There are two cinnamon harvests in the course of the year. The first and princ.i.p.al one takes place from April to July, and the second from November to January. The rind is peeled from the branches by means of knives, and then dried in the sun; this gives it a yellowish or brownish tint. The best cinnamon is a light yellow, and not thicker than pasteboard.

The essential oil of cinnamon, used in medicine, is extracted from the plant itself, which is placed in a vessel full of water, and left to steep for eight to ten days. The whole ma.s.s is then transferred to a retort and distilled over a slow fire. In a short time, on the surface of the water thus distilled a quant.i.ty of oil collects, and this is then skimmed off with the greatest care.

In the animal kingdom, besides the elephants, I was much struck by the number and tameness of the ravens of Ceylon. In every small town and village may be seen mult.i.tudes of these birds, that come up to the very doors and windows and pick up everything. They play the part of scavengers here, just as dogs do in Turkey. The horned cattle are rather small, with humps between the shoulder-blades; these humps consist of flesh and are considered a great dainty.

In Colombo and Pointe de Galle there are likewise a great many large white buffaloes, belonging to the English government, and imported from Bengal. They are employed in drawing heavy loads.

Under the head of fruit, I may mention the pine-apple as being particularly large and good.

I found the temperature supportable, especially in the high country round about Candy, where, after some heavy rain, it might almost be called cold. In the evening and morning the thermometer stood as low as 61 degrees 25' Fah.; and in the middle of the day and in the sun, it did not rise above 79 degrees 25'. In Colombo and Pointe de Galle, the weather was fine, and the heat reached 95 degrees Fah.

On the 26th of October I again reached Pointe de Galle, and on the following day I embarked in another English steamer for India.

CHAPTER XI. MADRAS AND CALCUTTA.

DEPARTURE FROM CEYLON--MADRAS--CALCUTTA--MODE OF LIFE OF THE EUROPEANS--THE HINDOOS--PRINc.i.p.aL OBJECTS OF INTEREST IN THE TOWN-- VISIT TO A BABOO--RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF THE HINDOOS--HOUSES OF DEATH AND PLACES FOR BURNING THE DEAD--MAHOMEDAN AND EUROPEAN MARRIAGE CEREMONIES.

On the afternoon of the 27th of October I went on board the steams.h.i.+p "Bentinck," of 500 horse-power; but we did not weigh anchor much before evening.

Among the pa.s.sengers was an Indian prince of the name of Schadathan, who had been made prisoner by the English for breaking a peace he had concluded with them. He was treated with all the respect due to his rank, and he was allowed his two companions, his mundschi, or secretary, and six of his servants. They were all dressed in the Oriental fas.h.i.+on, only, instead of turbans, they wore high, round caps, composed of pasteboard covered with gold or silver stuff.

They wore also luxuriant long black hair, and beards.

The companions of the prince took their meals with the servants. A carpet was spread out upon the deck, and two large dishes, one containing boiled fowls, and the other pillau, placed upon it; the company used their hands for knives and forks.

28th October. We still were in sight of the fine dark mountain ranges of Ceylon. Now and then, too, some huge detached groups of rocks would be visible towering above the waves.

29th October. Saw no land. A few whales betrayed their presence by the showers of spray they spouted up, and immense swarms of flying fish were startled by the noise of our engines.

On the morning of the 30th of October we came in sight of the Indian continent. We soon approached near enough to the sh.o.r.e to distinguish that it was particularly remarkable for its beauty, being flat and partly covered with yellow sand; in the back-ground were chains of low hills.

At 1 o'clock, P.M., we anch.o.r.ed at a considerable distance (six miles) from Madras. The anchoring place here is the most dangerous in the world, the ground-swell being so strong that at no time can large vessels approach near the town, and many weeks often pa.s.s without even a boat being able to do so. s.h.i.+ps, consequently, only stop a very short time, and there are rarely more than a dozen to be seen riding at anchor. Large boats, rowed by ten or twelve men, come alongside them to take the pa.s.sengers, letters, and merchandise ash.o.r.e.

The steamer stops here eight hours, which may be spent in viewing the town, though any one so doing runs a chance of being left behind, as the wind is constantly changing. I trusted to the good luck which had always attended me during my travels, and made one of the party that disembarked; but we had not got more than half way to land when I was punished for my curiosity. It began to rain most fearfully, and we were very soon wet to the skin. We took refuge in the first coffee-house we saw, situated at the water's edge; the rain had now a.s.sumed a tropical character, and we were unable to leave our asylum. As soon as the storm had pa.s.sed by, a cry was raised for us to return as quickly as possible, as there was no knowing what might follow.

A speculative baker of Madras had come out in the first boat that reached the steamer with ice and biscuits for sale, which he disposed of very much to his profit.

The angry heavens at length took compa.s.sion on us and cleared up before sunset. We were then enabled to see the palace-like dwellings of the Europeans, built half in the Grecian and half in the Italian style of architecture, stretching along the sh.o.r.e and beautifully lighted by the sun. Besides these, there were others standing outside the town in the midst of magnificent gardens.

Before we left, a number of natives ventured to us in small boats with fruit, fish, and other trifles. Their boats were constructed of the trunks of four small trees, tightly bound together with thin ropes made of the fibres of the cocoa-tree; a long piece of wood served as an oar. The waves broke so completely over them that I imagined every instant that both boats and men were irretrievably lost.

The good people were almost in a state of nature, and seemed to bestow all their care on their heads, which were covered with pieces of cloth, turbans, cloth or straw caps, or very high and peaked straw hats. The more respectable--among whom may be reckoned the boatmen who brought the pa.s.sengers and mails--were, however, in many cases, very tastily dressed. They had on neat jackets, and large long pieces of cloth wrapped round their bodies; both the cloths and jackets were white, with a border of blue stripes. On their heads they wore tightly fitting white caps, with a long flap hanging down as far as their shoulders. These caps, too, had a blue border. The complexion of the natives was a dark brown or coffee colour.

Late in the evening, a native woman came on board with her two children. She had paid second-cla.s.s fare, and was shown a small dark berth not far from the first cabin places. Her younger child had, unfortunately, a bad cough, which prevented some rich English lady, who had likewise a child with her, from sleeping. Perhaps the exaggerated tenderness which this lady manifested for her little son caused her to believe that the cough might be catching; but, be that as it may, the first thing she did on the following morning, was to beg that the captain would transfer mother and children to the deck, which the n.o.ble-hearted humane captain immediately did, neither the lady nor himself caring in the least whether the poor mother had or had not, even a warm coverlid to protect her sick child from the night cold and the frequent heavy showers.

Would that this rich English lady's child had only been ill, and exposed with her to the foggy night air, that she might herself have experienced what it is to be thus harshly treated! A person of any heart must almost feel ashamed at belonging to a cla.s.s of beings who allow themselves to be far surpa.s.sed in humanity and kindness by those who are termed savages; no savages would have thus thrust forth a poor woman with a sick child, but would, on the contrary, have taken care of both. It is only Europeans, who have been brought up with Christian principles, who a.s.sume the right of treating coloured people according as their whim or fancy may dictate.

On the 1st and 2nd of November we caught occasional glimpses of the mainland, as well as of several little islands; but all was flat and sandy, without the least pretensions to natural beauty. Ten or twelve s.h.i.+ps, some of them East Indiamen of the largest size, were pursuing the same route as ourselves.

On the morning of the 3rd of November, the sea had already lost its own beautiful colour, and taken that of the dirty yellow Ganges.

Towards evening we had approached pretty close to the mouths of this monster river, for some miles previous to our entering which, the water had a sweet flavour. I filled a gla.s.s from the holy stream, and drank it to the health of all those near and dear to me at home.

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, we cast anchor before Kadscheri, at the entrance of the Ganges, it being too late to proceed to Calcutta, which is sixty nautical miles distant. The stream at this point was several miles broad, so that the dark line of only one of its banks was to be seen.