MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS.” * 
During festivals and religious solem- 
nities, the Barhi carries a torch, and 
performs the oilice of a Mussalgee. 
The other profession alluded to, 
is that of a Bhaut, or poet, a person 
who celebrates the family, and the 
achievements of his patron; and, 
indeed, of every one who employs 
him. He is recognized as a mem- 
ber of the community, and has. an 
_annual fee of three sheaves from 
each plough of the village. Should 
a man’s vanity lay him under no 
contribution, he has nothing more 
to pay to this officer. A share of 
this, however, falls to the lot of 
many; and to gratify it, they call 
upon the bhaut, to compose a poem 
in their praise; for every such com- 
position, he receives a gratuity pro- 
portioned to his merit, or the grati- 
fication afforded to his employer. 
Before marriages, which are con- 
traéted by the parents, it is not un- 
common to empley, on each side, a 
Bhaut, who celebrates the wealth, 
influence, and respectability of the 
party who employs him. And, af- 
ter the, marriage, or the birth of 
their first child, the married persons 
give him a present of a bullock, or 
a piece of cloth, according to their 
circumstances. 
These particulars are offered on 
the authority of a native officer of 
the Bengal army, who, at my re- 
quest, made the necessary enqui- 
ries upon his own estate. The re- 
sult he has obligingly communicated 
in a manuscript in the Hindivi, tak- 
en upon the spot. A translation 
of this manuscript forms the sub- 
stance of this account; and, as 
this gentleman hears a very respect- 
able charaéter, I haye, on my part, 
perfeét confidence in the accuracy 
and truth of every part of his nar- 
rative. It ought, in fact, to be re- 
1 
907 
garded as neither absurd nor incre- 
dible, that in a country where every 
great man retains, in his service, a 
domestic merely for the purpose of 
proclaiming his titles to the mob as_ 
he passes, there should exist a race- 
of men who subsist by flattery. Our 
own manners, a few centuries ago, 
are said to have countenanced a 
race. of bards, who frequented the 
houses of chieftains, and celebrated 
their praises in as rude poetry, and 
by flattery as gross as the Bhauts of 
the Hindoos, There are a thou- 
sand particulars in which the Euro- 
pean custom and manners in the 
twelfth century, seem to have re« 
sembled those of Hindostan. The 
practice of entertaining buffoons and 
jesters at court, was common to 
‘both countries, and seems to an- 
nounce a state of manners equally 
indelicate with that above described. 
In this community, we have to 
notice five families of shepherds who 
possess fifteen hundred sheep; they 
constitute a particular class whe 
shear their sheep, and manufaéture 
the wool. The finer blankets are 
sold for one rupee each ; the coarse, 
eight anas; but the zemindar is en- 
titled to what he uses, at an inferior 
price. Mutton is ate, on certain 
occasions, by almost every cast, at 
least, the rams; and the case is the 
same with goat’s flesh- In this part 
of the country, there is a price fixed 
by Europeans for every sheep ; 
three for a rupee, or about ten 
pence each. This is lower than 
the real value, and must operate 
as a grievance: it explains the rea- 
son why the natives are so averse to 
sell their produétions ta Euro- 
peans. 
From the shepherd we pass to the 
village Brahmin. As often as the 
Ryut has colleéted a particular har- 
vest, 
