WESTERN H I N D O O S T A N. 6^ 



" duifled to fee a famous hofpital of birds, of all forts, which, 



*' for being fick, lame, deprived of their mates, or otherwife 



" needing fooil, and cure, are kept and tended there with dili- 



" gence ; as alfothe men who take care of them are maintained 



" by the public alms ; the hidlan Gentiles (who, with Pytbago- 



*' ras, and the antient Egyptians, the firft authors of this opi- 



" rion, according to Herodotus, believe the tranfmigration of 



*' fouls, not only from man to nian, but alfo from man to brute 



*' beail) conceiving it no lefs a work of charity to do good to 



" beaft-, than to men. The houfe of this hofpital is fmall, a 



" little rooni fufficing for many birds : Yet I faw it ftdl of birds 



*' of all forts which need tendance, as cocks, hens, pigeons, 



" peacocks, ducks, and fmall birds, which during their being 

 ** lame or fick, or matelefs, are kept here ; but, being recovered 



" and in good plight if they be wild, they are let go at liberty ; 



*' if domeftic, they are given to fome pious perfon, who keeps 



" them in his houfe. The moil curious thing I faw in this 



" place, was certain little mice, who, being found orphans 



" without fire or dam to tend them, were put into this hofpi- 



" tal, and a venerable old man with a white beard, keeping 



" them in a box amongft cotton, very diligently tended them, 



" with his fpecflacles on his nofe, giving them milk to eat with 



" a bird's feather, becaufe they were lb little that as yet they 



*' could eat nothing elfe ; an;], as he told us, he intended when 



" they were grown up tj let them go free whither they 



" pleafed. 



" The next morning," (p. 36) adds he, <' we faw another For Goats, 5cc. 



" hofpital of goats, kids, flieep, and wethers, either lick or lame; 



Vol. I. K i- and 



