120 POPULATION OF MYSORE. 



five million souls, of wliicli onl_y tive per cent, are 

 Mohamedans, and the remainder Hindus. Of native 

 Christians there are nearly 18,000, all but ten per cent. 

 Catholics, who have their agricultural communities in 

 every district. Hassan, until recently one of the 

 eight divisions of Mysore, has as many as 2,500 

 native Christians. The Roman Catholic missionaries, 

 I understood, allow converts to keep their caste, which 

 is a liberal concession sure to be appreciated ; for with- 

 out caste a native becomes contemptible in the eyes of 

 all, and is expelled from intercourse even with members 

 of his own family. Each of these eight provinces is 

 subdivided into eleven talooks, possessing a court of 

 justice, each presided over by a native, and bribery is 

 said to be flourishing there to an incredible extent. 

 The language of Mysore is Canarese, and anything but 

 euphonious ; according to Professor Max Milller, it is 

 one of the Turanian tongues. 



The present Maharajah is Chama Rajendra Wodeyar 

 Bahadar, born in 1863 ; he is very stout, and of pleasant 

 countenance, holds enlightened views, and is fond of 

 English society, although a strict Hindoo. 



A railway connecting Hassan and Chickmagloor with 

 Bangalore is now (1888) being pushed on, and likewise 

 the construction of a fine stone brid^re, with nine arches 



