Category: Travel Writing
The ship _l’Aimable Nannette_, commanded by Captain Berteaud, in which I sailed from l’Orient, arrived in the road of _Puduceri_[3] on the 25th of July 1776, after a tedious passage of six months and as many days. Our patience was, therefore, almost exhausted; and we longed no...
The ship _l’Aimable Nannette_, commanded by Captain Berteaud, in which I sailed from l’Orient, arrived in the road of _Puduceri_[3] on the 25th of July 1776, after a tedious pas...
4. CHAPTER II.M. Jallabert had given-me a particular account of a seminary at _Virapatnam_, in which young Indians who embraced the Christian religion were educated. As education is an object...
5. CHAPTER III._Caschemir_, which, according to the map published at Paris in the year 1781, is situated under the 35th degree of north latitude. This city is certainly the _Caspira_ or _Caspi...
6. CHAPTER IV.In the year 1776, a Portuguese ship, the _Nossa Senhora de Luz_, was lying at anchor in the road of Puduceri, the owner of which, John Gonzalvez, had made a voyage to Madraspatn...
7. CHAPTER V.I. The _Aratel_, an Indian word, signifies a pound, merchants’ weight, of sixteen ounces. Twenty-four such _Aratel_ or pounds make a _Manna_, which commercial people call _Mao_....
8. CHAPTER VI.In describing Malabar I can speak from experience and without trusting to the information of others, as in the course of my travels I had an opportunity of being better acquaint...
9. CHAPTER VII.The inhabitants of _Malayala_, which, comprehending all its provinces from Cape _Illi_ to _Tovala_, is 120 Indian miles in length; and from the Gauts to the sea, between twenty-...
10. CHAPTER VIII.Pope Clement XIV. by an apostolical letter had recommended, in a particular manner, the Christians of Malabar to the protection of the king of Travancor. This letter, dated July...
11. CHAPTER IX.That there is no want of oxen and cows in India appears from the second chapter of this work. Horses were brought hither from Arabia and Persia. They are of small size, but stro...
12. CHAPTER X.The whole sea-coast from Surat to Cape Comari is inhabited by fishermen, who, because they belong to the despised or rather lowest casts, dare not settle in the interior part of...
13. CHAPTER I.The Indians of Malabar say that women conceive in silence, but bring forth amidst noise. When a woman is pregnant, the greatest respect is paid to her; not only by her husband,...
14. CHAPTER II.Marriage, in the Samscred language, is called _Vivàha_, or _Pànigrahanna_; the latter of which implies joining of hands, from _Pàni_ the hand, and _Grahanna_ laying hold. In the...
15. CHAPTER III.1. _To kill no one._--He who commits murder renders himself guilty of one of the five mortal sins, which the Indians call _Mahàpàva_, and for which, as we shall hereafter see, t...
16. CHAPTER IV.Of these classes, called by the Indians _Giadi_ or _Varna_, and by the Europeans, very improperly, _casts_[167], there are a great many. The principal are: _Brahmana_, _Kshetria...
17. CHAPTER V.Religious Matters.--All affairs which relate to religion are determined by the Brahmans alone, in the presence of their _Sarvavèda_, or high-priest. The king, who, as is well kn...
18. CHAPTER VI.The _Samskrda_ is the mother of all the languages in India. Its name implies that it must be a perfect and excellently formed language; for _Krda_ signifies a perfect, complete...
19. CHAPTER VII.The almighty, infinite, eternal, incomprehensible, and self-existent Being is called in the Samscred language _Parabrahma_, _Tatva Paramèshvara_, _Svayambhu Paràbara_. _Parabrah...
20. CHAPTER VIII.It is a part of the superstition and religious practices of the Indians, to paint on their forehead or breast certain hieroglyphical marks, which serve to shew either their pecu...
21. CHAPTER IX.In the reckoning of time the Indians employ partly solar years, and partly lunar. A solar year is called _Sura_, or _Surya Valsara_; a lunar year, _Somanda_, or _Ciandra Valsara...
22. CHAPTER X.It is a certain truth, long known, that the art of poetry flourished in the earliest periods among the eastern nations. Thus the Hebrews had their hymns, and their popular songs...
23. CHAPTER XI.Diseases prevail at the north pole as well as in the torrid zone; but those to which the Esquimaux, Greenlanders, and other northern tribes are subject, are for the most part di...
24. CHAPTER XII.On the 12th of March 1789 I embarked at Cochin in order to return to Europe, that I might proceed to Rome and deliver the letters which I had received from the procurator of the...
25. CHAPTER XIII.On the 20th of April, 1789, the Calypso frigate, after a pleasant and agreeable passage, arrived in the harbour of the Isle of France. The entrance into this harbour is exceedin...