ty-five, at the hour of ten in the morning, when all Malays remained in the same state of ignorance as when I left them, that I, Ibrahim, the son of Candu the merchant, went to the palace of the Rajah, with all the great men of the Rajah's court, and was admitted even to the second story, (or rather second heaven.)

How beautiful is this palace, and great its extent,-who can describe it? Who can relate the riches of this country, and, above all, the beauties of the palace? When I entered the great gates, and looked around from my palankeen, (for in this country even I, Ibrahim, the son of Candu the merchant, had my palankeen,) and when I beheld the beauty and extent of the compound, the workmanship of the railings, and the noble appearance of the gates, of which there are five, and on the tops of which lions carved out of stones, as large as life, seem small, and as if they were running without fearing to fall. I thought I was no longer in the world I had left in the east; but it is fortunate that I was not overcome with surprise, and that I lived to see the wonders that were with in, and to write this account, that men may know what it is.

When I entered the palace, and my Tuan said, Ibrahim, follow me, don't be afraid,-this is the house of the Rajah, and he is kind to all people, particularly to Malays," my heart was rejoiced; and as I felt above all Malays on this great day, for there were no other Malays here, I plucked up my courage and followed my Tuan, even mixing with other Tuans, of whom there were many on the stairs at the same time, all of them having large black fans in their hands and kindness in their looks, for whenever I raised my eyes to any of them they smiled.

The floors of the great hall are of black stone, polished and shining like a mirror, so that I feared to walk on Feb. 1813.

them; and all around, how many transparent lustres and branches for lights were suspended, dazzling and glistening so that I could not look long upon them!

Until I arrived at the second story, the stairs were all of stone, which formed part of the wall, and had no support. I then entered the great hall where all the Tuans were assembled, and every one looked at me; but I, Ibrahim the son of Candu the merchant, knowing the kindness of my Tuan, and that he would laugh at me if I remained behind a pillar, so that no one could see me, walked about and saw every thing, mixing with the other Tuans: no one spoke to me, but all made room for me when I passed, so much was I distin"guished among the people of the court.

The floor of this great room is not of stone, because it is of a dark-coloured wood, beautifully polished; and, were I to describe all the beauties of this great hall, the splendour of the throne, and all I saw there, I should write what would not be read in three months. My head turned giddy when the Rajah entered; but, as far as I can recollect, I will faithfully describe all that I saw in this beautiful place.

At the end of the hall there is a throne, superlatively beautiful, supported by four pillars of gold, and having hangings of the colour of blood, enriched with golden fringe; it is beautiful in the extreme, and the elegance of the drapery is surprising. Within this throne there is a golden chair, with hangings and fringe of gold, in which the Rajah sits, when he receives other Rajahs and Vakeels.

In front of this throne, how many chairs were arranged in rows, and how many couches with white cushions, were between the pillars, on each of which there was a stamped paper, as well as on the couch on which I afterwards sat down; for I, Ibrahim,

to each who had spoken titles, and, to those who had not, he gave papers, and small packets tied with red string, for red is the English colour. What these packets contained I don't know, but one fell to the ground from the hand of the bintara, and it sounded like metal; it must have been gold or silver, and as large as a dollar. First, the bintara with the green eyes, (for it is the custom that the eldest bintara should have green shades before his eyes, that he may not be dazzled by the greatness of the Rajah, and forget his duty,) brought the books and packets, and delivered them to the bintara with the black bajee, from whose hands the Rajah received them one by one, in order to present them to the youths. The papers glistened, and were beautiful to look at; and they contained much writing for the youths to learn against the next time the Rajah might call them together.

When this was over, the Rajah, who had hitherto remained silent, and spoken only by his kind looks and smiles, took from the skirt of his bajee, on the left side, a book; and, after every one had taken his place, and the bengalees, with gold and silver sticks, and some with whisks to keep the flies off, had arranged themselves behind the Rajah, he spoke aloud from the book; and how long did I hear the Rajah's voice! Every one was pleased; but I regretted that it was not in Malay; for who could understand it!

While the Rajah was reading aloud, the sepoys entered from one end of the hall, and marched along, passing the side of the throne, but behind the pillars. The meaning of this custom I do not comprehend, but it was no doubt some compliment to the Rajah, who seemed pleased, and raised his voice while every one stirred.

After the Rajah had finished he got up, because no one sat down any Longer, except the ladies, and I fol.

lowed my Tuan out of the hall; but I did not hear cannon, nor music, nor acclamations, for the English delight in silence.

It was three days after before I could think of and recollect all I had seen on this great day. I write this history, that men may not be ignorant of Bengal, and of the manners and customs of the great Rajah of the English; and it is written at Bengal by me, Ibrahim, the son of Candu the merchant, in the thirtieth year of my age, and on the day of Khamis, being the twenty-seventh day of the month of Shaaban, and in the year of the flight of the Prophet of God, one thousand two hundred and twentyfive.

Account of a Residence at Madras.

DO not know any thing more strik

ing than the first approach to Madras. The low, flat, sandy shore, extending for miles to the north and south, for the few hills there are appear far inland, seems to promise nothing but barren nakedness, when, on arriving in the roads, the town and fort are like a vision of enchantment. The beach is crowded with people of all colours, whose busy motions at that distance make the earth itself seem alive. The public offices and store-houses, which line the beach, are fine buildings, with colonnades to the upper stories, supported by rustic bases arched, all of the fine Madras chunam, smooth, hard, and polished as marble. At a short distance, FortGeorge, with its lines and bastions, the government-house and gardens, backed by St Thomas's Mount, form an interesting part of the picture, while here and there, in the distance, minarets and pagodas are seen rising from among the gardens.

We were hardly a-shore when we

were

were surrounded by above a hundred dubashis and servants of all kinds, pushing for employment. The dubashis undertake to interpret, to buy all you want, to change money, to provide you with servants, tradesmen, and palankeens, and, in short, to do every thing that a stranger finds it. irksome to do for himself. We went immediately to our friend's gardenhouse; for at Madras every body lives in the country, though all offices and counting-houses, public and private, are in the fort or in town. The garden-houses are generally of only one story; they are of a pretty style of architecture, having their porticos and virandas supported by pillars of chunam; the walls are of the same material, either white or coloured, and the floors are covered with ratan mats, so that it is impossible to be. more cool. The houses are usually surrounded by a field or compound, with a few trees and shrubs, but it is with incredible pains that flowers or fruits are raised. During the hot winds, tats, (a kind of mat,) made of the root of the koosa grass, which has an agreeable smell, are placed against the doors and windows, and constantly watered, so that, as the air blows through them, it spreads an agreeable scent and freshness through the house.

I went the other day to see the naval hospital here, a large, handsome building, with an excellent garden, and very well appointed. On the top is a large plat-form, where the convalescents take exercise and enjoy fresh air, with the view over all Madras, its petah or Black-town, and garden-houses to the shipping in the roads. There is a rope-walk attached to the hospital, but it wants air and is rather short; it however furnishes employment for the invalids. From the hospital I went to see the garden which the late Dr Anderson had planted as a botanical garden, at 2 vast expence, but it is now in a sad

state of ruin. I remarked there the

Saguerus Rumphi, a kind of palm, from which an excellent kind of sago is made. It is also valuable on account of the black fibres surrounding the trunk at the insertion of the leaves, which afford a cordage for ships, said to be stronger and more durable than that made from any other vegetable substance. I saw also the Nopaul, a kind of prickly pear, on a species of which the cochineal insect lives, and which is now cultivated in Madras as an esculent vegetable. It was brought here merely as a curious exotic, but was discovered by Dr Anderson to be a valuable antiscorbutic, and has since been used in all men-of-war on the Indian station, which are now almost free from that dreadful malady the scurvy. The nopaul keeps fresh, and even continues to vegetate long after it is gathered; it makes an excellent pickle, which is now issued to the ships of war.

The language spoken at Madras by the natives is the Talinga, here called Malabars. The men-servants are all Hindoos, but the women are mostly Portuguese. The palankeenbearers are called Bhoïs, and are remarkable for strength and swiftness. They have a peculiar song, or cry, with which they amuse themselves on a journey at first it sounds like the expression of pain and weariness, but it presently breaks out into sounds of exultation. I have not seen any banians at Madras, but there are a number of hawkers who resemble the borahs. I often see natives of Pondicherry, French converts, going about with boxes of lace and artificial flowers, made chiefly by the ladies of the decayed French families in that settlement. There is something in the gaiety of the French character that communicates itself to all around. I have seen a black man, from Pondi cherry, handle a lace, a flower, a ribbon, with all the air of a fine gentle

man,

man, and in his rags shew more politeness and gallantry, than half our Madras Civil Servants are possessed of. Besides these French pedlars, there are a set of Mahomedans, who go about selling moco stones, petrified tamarind wood, garnets, coral, mock amber, and a variety of other trinkets, and who are, in their way, as amusing as the Frenchmen. The manner of living among the English at Madras has a great deal more of external elegance than at Bombay; but, the same influences operating on the society, I find it neither better

nor worse.

I was two evenings ago at a public ball in the Pantheon, which contains, besides a ball-room, a very pretty theatre, card-rooms, and virandas. During the cold season there are monthly assemblies, with occasional balls all the year, which are very well conducted. The Pantheon is a handsome building; it is used as a freemasons' lodge of modern masons, among whom almost every man in the army and navy who visits Madras enrols himself. The only other public place at Madras is the Mount Road, leading from Fort-George to St Thomas's Mount. It is smooth as a bowl. ing-green, and planted on each side with banian and yellow tulip trees. About five miles from the fort, on this road, stands a cenotaph to the memory of Lord Cornwallis. It has

during the visiting hours, from nine o'clock till eleven, when the young men go from house to house to retail the news, ask commissions to town for the ladies, bring a bauble that has been newly set, or one which the lady has obliquely hinted, at a shopping party the day before, she would willingly purchase, but that her husband does not like her to spend so much, and which she thus obtains from some young man, one quarter of whose monthly salary is probably sacrificed to his gallantry. When all the visitors who have any business are gone to their offices, another troop of idlers appears, still more frivolous than the former, and remains till tiffin, at two o'clock, when the real dinner is eaten, and wines and strong beer from England are freely drank. The ladies then retire, and for the most part undress, and lie down with a novel in their hands, over which they generally sleep. About five o'clock the master of the family returns from his office; the lady dresses herself for the Mount Road; returns, dresses, dines, and goes from table to bed, unless there be a ball, when she dresses again, and dances all night; and this, I assure you, is a fair, very fair, account of the usual life of a Madras lady.

not remarkable for good taste; however, I love to see public monuments in any shape to great men. It is the fashion for all the gentlemen and ladies of Madras to repair, in their gayest equipages, to the Mount Road, and, after driving furiously along, they loiter round and round the cenotaph for an hour, partly for exercise, and partly for the opportunity of flirting and displaying their fine clothes; after which they go home, to meet again every day in the year, But the greatest lounge at Madras is

Sc. in DUBLIN.