156 ESSAY ON 



induced them also to bring one extremity of the 

 western Cerne under the same meridian, probably for 

 the sake of symmetry, which was certainly a sufficient 

 reason with them. Thus the iron peaks of the two 

 Tri-cntadris fell in the same meridian, and the 

 northern one misrht be about Nova-Zembla. 



This made me suppose, on my first acquaintance 

 with the Puranas, that the White Island was an 

 Utopian land, and I resolved of course to give myself 

 no further trouble about it. The ingenious Mr. 

 Bailly would not have failed, to have considered 

 this projection of the northern 77'i-c///r/, as a confir- 

 mation of his own system. There is another instance 

 of the fondness of the Hindus for a symmetrical ar- 

 rangement, and noticed by Strabo, as we have seen 

 in the first part. The mountains to the north of India 

 are in an oblique direction, and the first range of the 

 snowy mountains is in the same line with Romaca- 

 pattan or Rome, and Yamapuri or Jumcote, as placed 

 by the Hindus, one at the furthest extremities of the 

 west, and the other in the same manner toward the 

 east, as represented in the second number of the ac- 

 companying plate. But as this oblique direction of 

 the mountains to the north of India, does not look so 

 well in the mode of projection adopted by the Hindus^ 

 they have represented them in a parallel direction 

 with the equator ; and with them Jumcote and Rome. 

 Strabo highly reprobates that alteration in the direc- 

 tion of the mountains to the north of India; and 

 which in his time, had been adopted by geopraphers 

 in the west. 



The two Gadirs, called the eastern and western 

 gates, by Arab and Persian authors, are in an oblique 

 direction, and may be called the terrestrial gates : 



