

BANGALORE. 



BANO-KOK. 



which contained the skeleton of a human body quite complete lying 

 at full length ; by the side of the skeleton was a doer's horn. There 

 ore several cairns' on the Boads of Cullen or Bannachie Moor, which 

 some antiquaries think were erected in memory of the Scots slain in 

 the bottle with the Danes, which according to Buchanan was fought in 

 the neighbourhood, and in which the Norsemen were completely 

 defeated by Indulf, king of Scotland. 



Clmrrlu*, Ac. Banffshire is divided into 24 parishes, each of 

 which has its own schoolmaster, church, and clergyman. The Free 

 I 'hurch. United Presbyterian Church, Independents, Episcopalians, and 

 Roman Catholics hove each several places of worship in the county. 



The parochial schoolmasters of Banff-hire, with those of the 

 adjoining counties of Elgin and Aberdeen, have had an addition of 

 nearly SOL per annum made to their incomes by the bequest of the 

 late James Dick, of London. This gentleman having been born in 

 the county of Elgin, partly educated in the county of Banff, and 

 partly in that of Aberdeen, and having through the means of his 

 education raised himself from the most humble circumstances to 

 opulence, left the whole of bis fortune at his death in 1827 to the 

 parochial schoolmasters of these three counties. The amount of the 

 bequest was 130,0007., which in accordance with the deceased's will 

 was invested in the funds for the purposes mentioned. The parochial 

 schoolmasters of these counties are consequently better provided for 

 than those of any other county in Scotland. 



The population of Banffghiro in 1801 was 37,216; in 1851 it was 

 64,171. In 1791 the annual value of real property was 42.7C8/. ; in 

 the year 1843 it was 116,9687. The county sends one member to the 

 Imperial Parliament. In 1851 there were two savings bonks in the 

 county, ot Banff and Gomrie. The amount owing to depositors on 

 November 20th, 1851, was 10,8747. 17. "id. 



(Buchanan's Ilittory of Scotland ; Guthrie'g ffittory of Scotland; 

 Pennant's Tour ; Douglas's Journey through the North of Scotland ; 

 Shaw's Hutory of the Prorinee of Moray ; Sir John Sinclair's General 

 Report of Scotland; Rev. Charles Gardiner's Antiquities of North 

 Britain ; Beautiet of Scotland; New Siatutical Account of Scotland; 

 Parliamentary Rf'urnt, Ac.) 



BANGALO'RE, or BANGALUTIA, an important fortified city in 

 the territory of the Rajah of Mysore, situated in 12 57' N. lat, 77 38' 

 E. long., 74 miles from Seringapatam and 215 miles from Madras. 

 The city was founded by Hyder Ali, and during his reign it became a 

 place of much trade. It was well fortified, with a deep ditch and an 

 extensive glacis. A mud palace, or Mahal, built within the fortress, 

 now serves as officers' quarters. Under Tippoo Saib Bangalore lost 

 much of the prosperity which it had acqmred under Hyder Ali. In 

 1721 Lord Cornwallis took the fort of Bangalore by assault, and 

 the town was on that occasion plundered by the soldiers. Shortly 

 after the English withdrew, Tippoo mode great exactions on the 

 inhabitants. On Tippoo's death the territory of Mysore became one 

 of the protected states. Bangalore then speedily regained its former 

 importance. In 1834 the British government exercised the preroga- 

 tive reserved by previous treaties of assuming the entire management 

 of the territory of Mysore, in consequence of the misrule of the Rajah. 

 The Rajah claimed to be reinstated, but in 1847 his claim was held 

 inadmissible, on the ground of his incompetency to govern. 



Bangalore contains a large proportion of good-anted houses. The 

 buildings are composed of the red earth of the country, and are covered 

 with tiles. Adjoining the town are extensive and admirably arranged 

 gardens, made by Hyder and Tippoo. The cypress and vine grow 

 luxuriantly in the climate of Bangalore,'and the apple and pooch both 

 bear fruit. It is thought that the olive and other plants of the I ,c\ ant 

 would succeed in this spot, which from its elevated position (nearly 

 8000 feet above the level of the sea) enjoys a temperate climate. For 

 the same reason invalids are accustomed to repair to Bangalore from 

 of the south of Hindustan, and except in very severe 

 ive almost certain benefit from the change. 



The inhabitant* (who at the death of Tippoo were estimated at 

 about 60,000) are mostly Hindoos; but many Mohammedan*, some 

 members of whom families were attached to the service of the late 

 nitons, continue to reside in the town. 



From its central position, Bangalore has routes passing through it 

 in every direction, which circumstonce gives to it considerable im- 

 portance, both politically and as a trading station. Its merchants 

 carry on commercial dealings with every part of the south of India. 

 The principal articles which enter into this commerce are salt, sugar, 

 betel-nut, spices, metals, dyeing-stuffs, raw silk, and cotton wool 

 Many of these articles ore imported for the use of its manufacture. 

 The times woven here, both of silk and cotton, are almost entirely 

 retained for the use of the district. The silk goods are mostly of a 

 rich texture. The rpinning of cotton is performed by women, who 

 carry tho yarn to a weekly market for sole to the weavers. 



t Hamilton's Journey throvgkMfKre, Ac.; KcnnrU'sJafemoir; Mill's 

 liriitih /mtia ; Parliamentary Papert.) 



BAN<i-KOK, the capital of the kingdom of Sism on the peninsula 

 beyond the Ganges, is situated on both banks of the river Menam, 

 about 20 miles from its mouth, in 13" 40- N. lot, 100 40' E. long. 

 The river u here about a quarter of a mile in breadth. 



It is a pUos of considerable extent, and consists properly of three 

 part*, the Booting town, the town itself, and the royal palace. The 



first present* the most curious view to Europeans : both banks of the 

 river ore lined by eight, ten, or more rows of floating houses, which 

 occupy the whole 1. ir.-tli of the town, amounting to about three miles. 

 These houses are built of boards only, and are of a neat oblong form. 

 Towards the river they are provided with covered platforms, on which 

 numerous articles of merchandise are displayed, as fruit, rice, meat, 

 Ac. The bouses rest on bamboo- rafts, which at each end are fastened 

 to long bamboos driven into the bottom of the rircr. The houses ore 

 in general very small, consisting of one floor, with a principal centre 

 room and one or two small ones; the centre is open in front fur thu 

 display of merchandise. The floors are raised about a foot above the 

 water, and the roof is thatched with palm-leaves. The houses in this 

 port of the town ore occupied chiefly by Chinese, and are generally 

 Chinese in form. 



The land portion of the city extends on both sides of the river to a 

 distance of three or four miles. It is entirely built of wood except 

 the palaces of the king, the temples, and the houses of some of the 

 ministers, which ore constructed of bricks or with mud walls. The 

 houses extend about one or two hundred yards from the river, much 

 of this space being occupied by fruit-trees. The houses are built .n 

 posts driven into the earth, and raised above the bonk a precaution 

 rendered necessary by the daily tides and the annual inundations to 

 which the town is exposed. These houses are not disposed in regular 

 streets, for in this country there are few or scarcely any roads or even 

 pathways, the river and canals forming the common highways not 

 only for goods but for passengers of every description. A boot, gene- 

 rally a small one, is attached to each house, whether floating or not. 

 These boots ore so light and sharp in their form that they ascend with 

 ease against the stream. The houses contain several email nj irt : 

 of which the Chinese always allot the central one for the reception of 

 their household gods. The shops forming one side of the house being 

 shut up at night are converted into sleeping apartments. 



The palace of the king is situated upon on island a little above the 

 town. The island is above two miles in length, but is of inrnnMili-r- 

 able breadth, and is separated from the continent by a narrow arm of 

 the river. The palace, and indeed almost the whole of the island, is 

 surrounded by a wall in some parts of considerable height, here and 

 there furnished with indifferent-looking bastions, and provided u itli 

 numerous gates. The king, several of his ministers, and the numerous 

 persons attached to the court, reside within this space, most of them 

 in wretched huts made of palm-leaves. The greater port of the space 

 included by the wall consists of waste ground, swamps, and fruit- 

 gardens. 



The palaces are small buildings in the Chinese style, covered with 

 a diminishing series of three or four tiled roofs, sometimes ornamented 

 by a small spire. Tho most remarkable buildings are the temples : 

 they cover a large extent of ground, and are placed in the best and 

 most elevated situations, surrounded by brick walls or bamboo hedges : 

 their inclosure contains numerous rows of buildings disposed in 

 straight lines. The temples consist of one spacious and in : 

 lofty hall, with numerous doors and windows. Both the exterior :md 

 interior are studded with a profusion of minute and singular orna- 

 ments. Such ornaments are generally placed on the ends of thn 

 building*. The floor of the temple is elevated several feet above t he 

 ground, and generally boarded or paved, and covered with coarse 

 mats. In tbo central temple, which has the form of a parallelogram, 

 is a sitting figure of Buddha of gigantic proportions. Near 1 1 > 

 smaller temples, in which are numerous gilded figures of lliM.lh.. in 

 cast-iron, in brass, in wood, and in clay. In a separate apartim nt the 

 sacred library is preserved. The cells of the talapoiuH, or priests, ore 

 wooden structures raised on pillars, and extending in a regular range 

 along the whole face of the square. 



One or more spires would appear to be a necewwry part of every 

 Siamese temple. The most remarkable an- those willed Prah < -ha <li,' 

 or the Roof of the Prah, or Lonl, whii h in iVjhui an- ii.-uned Uogoba. 

 They are solid buildings of masonry generally built in tin- n, i ; ; 

 hood of some temple, but they are always distinct from tho temple.. 

 The Prah-cho-di of the large temple has a light MI,. I hnn<l 

 once. The lower port consists of a series of clodccolicdra) terraces, 

 diminishing gradually to nearly one-half of the whole h. ii-ht, 

 they are succeeded by a handsome spire, fluted longitudinally and 

 ornamented with numerous circular iin.uhlin^. The minor oin. 

 are numerous, and towards the summit there is a globe of glass. The 

 height of this singular monument is rtated to be 162 feet. 



The greatest number of the inhabitants of Bang-kok are Oh 

 and their descendants. When the ancient capital of the empire was 

 token by the Bit-muse in 1 ><<>, ami tin' royal family was i 

 destroyed, a merchant of the name of I'ia-tac, either himself a Chinese 

 or of Chinese extraction, put on cud to the existing anarchy ..n.l 

 ascended the throne. Ho chose Hang-kok for his residence. !' 

 to Pia-tac's time it hod been of little importance, and noted c.h icily 

 for the excellence of its fruits, which were sent in grea* 

 to Yuthia, or Judia, at that time the capital of Siam, and nil 

 considerably higher up the river Menam. I'ia-tac fa 

 countrymen, who settled in great numbers in Bang-kok ; and though 

 I'ia-tac was afterwards killed, and a Siamese dynasty follow, ,! on the 

 throne, they maintained themselves at this place. The pnpul at ion, 

 amounting according to some accounts to about 400,000, includes a 



