455 



the general state of the arts and sciences in India, at the com- 

 mencement of the seventeenth century. " The minister Jagadeva 

 Row had made a vow to distribute in charity the weight of his 

 elephant in silver; and all the learned men of the court had 

 studied in vain the means of constructing a machine of sufficient 

 power to weigh the elephant. Shahjee's expedient was certainly 

 simple and ingenious in an eminent degree. He led the animal 

 along a stage prepared for the purpose, to a flat- bottomed boat; 

 and marking the water line removed the elephant, and caused 

 stones to be placed in the boat, sufficient to load it to the same 

 line. The stones being brought separately to the scales, ascer- 

 tained the true weight of the elephant, to the astonishment of the 

 court at the wonderful talents of Shahjee." 



Sugar-canes, mangos, and biingals, always formed a principal 

 part of my villagers' presents when I halted at the public well. 

 Although too great a part of the Bhaderpoor purgunna was un- 

 cultivated, in the other districts I had seldom occasion to look out 

 for gardens or pleasure grounds to pitch my tent or erect my sum- 

 miniana, orshamyana, the whole country being generally agarden. 

 A corn-field, considered in its full extent, affords one of the most 

 gratifying objects in nature: not much less interesting, and more 

 beautiful to the eye, are the fields of cotton already mentioned. 

 I then omitted one of my occupations respecting this valuable 

 production. I had generally large commissions annually to pur- 

 chase cotton at Baroche for the Bombay merchants, to be sent 

 from thence to Bengal and China. For this purpose the English 

 gentlemen at Baroche made their contracts with the cotton dealers, 



