an J 
1808.) 
then mounted again and Jed to another 
_ mosque, where the same ceremony was 
"practised; and so on to as many more as 
the priest judged proper, or the libera- 
lity of the father extended to. We then 
returned to the place where we first as- 
sembled, and the child was again placed 
under the ornamented canopy; the mu- 
sic, which had hitherto: played, suddenly 
ceased. The priest appeared in his. sa- 
cerdotal robes, holding an ewer of con- 
secrated water in his hand, which he 
plentifully sprinkled over the Mussulman 
elect, muttering at the same’ time the 
prayers and formulas prescribed for the 
eceasion, The barber then advanced 
with a sharp razor to perform the act of 
eircumeision ; and while the attention of 
the child was drawn another way, exe- 
cuted his office in @ very expeditious and 
masterly manner. At this eventful mo- 
ment every person in company, excent 
the English visitors, stood on one foot, 
aud joined the priest in petitions to hea- 
ven for the child’s safety ; but no sooner 
was the severed cuticle triumphantly dis- 
played by the barber, then bismillah* 
resounded from every quarter, the music 
again strack up a sprightly air, and the 
| father received the congratulations of the 
| company. Ai ample repast of pilaws, 
‘eurries, and kebobs, was then brought in, 
and some fruits and sweetmeats present- 
ed to the Europeans, after which the 
dancing girls were introduced, who amus- 
ed the company with singing and dancing 
to a late hour, ’ 
. The dancing girls of the East have 
been celebrated from remote antiquity, 
‘and still continue to support their an- 
cient reputation; they constitute the 
incipal source of diversion to a very 
Bese: portion of mankind, and from the 
metropolis of Turkey to the Great Wall 
| ef China, no public entertainments are 
\} deemed complete without their assist- 
ance; They associate together in com- 
a of six or seven, uuder the guidance 
(} structs them in the various duties of their 
*| protession, and supplies them with the 
| | necessaries of life;in return for which she 
\}takes care to engross the whole profits 
)}Of their labours. The distinction of 
#}easts is lost among them, and Christians, 
thometaus, or Hindus, are equally 
icome to partake of their favours. Jn 
ir nautches, or dances, they are al- 
ys accompanied by a band of music, 
s * Praise be to God, 
iwuty Mac, No. 178, 
Narrative ofa recent Tour in India. 
an old experienced dame, who in-- 
443 
consisting of a small druim, called a Toiite 
Tom, 2 most uncouth kind of fiddle with 
three strings, and two or three other dig- 
cordant ifistruments, which are played 
on by men whose strange grimacés and 
hideous covntenances disgust the eye as 
much as their horrid din tortures the 
ear; habit, however, reconciles us to the 
noise, and there are instances of English 
gentlemen becoming more attaéhed to 
this diversion than the natives them- 
selves. The dance represents a kind 6f 
pantomime, such as a lover addressing 
his mistress ; a procuress practising hér 
arts to allure a young woman to hér 
snare; the favourite entertainment of 
flying a paper kite, and several others of 
a sitnilar. nature, which they execite 
with much taste and elegance. The aée 
tion does not consist so much in the agi- 
lity of their feet as in expressive looks 
and graceful movements, I have fre- 
quently seen thie fright and agitation 6f 
a young girl on the point of being dé- 
tected ii an intrigue, or the ardent and 
impetuous addresses of a lover soliciting 
to be blessed, admirably represented in 
some of their love-dances. The motion 
of their limbs, and the wantonneéss of 
their attitudes, cannot fail to excite cer- 
tain ideas and sensations, which, as Lady 
Mary Wortley Montague observes ‘in her 
Letters, “shall be nameless.” I must, 
however, do them the justice to say, that 
they never practise these lascivious pos- 
tures, unless desired by the company. 
‘Their dresses aré very brilliant, anid have 
a splendid appéatance, particularly by 
candle hight; their necks and arnis are 
decorated with gold chains and precious 
stones, and their ancles with massive 
rings, called bunéles, of the samé metal 
to which are fastened little bells like 
thse in a child’s coral; their fingérs and 
toes are ornaménted with rings, and their 
ears loadéd in such a manner as offen td 
draw the lobe down to the Shouldér, 
But the most singular ornament is thé 
nosé-jewel ; this is a slender ring, about 
two inchés in diametér; made of sold 
wire, and passed through thé éartilage oF 
the nose, or one of the nostrils; ithaga 
pleasing éffect when custom has recons 
ciled the eyé'to“its appedrance. Thejr 
Jong black hair is twisted aad biaiged in, 
various forms, and SAAS eae with 
jewels and flowers; their breasts are 
enclosed in’ hollow cases of wood made 
to fit them exactly, and these are so. 
very thin and flexible, that they bie 
way wih every motion of the body, atic 
ie BT, erent 
