419 



of Benares, and the classical font at Belgram, a town in the pro- 

 vince of Oude, celebrated for producing men with lively imagina- 

 tions, and melodious voices; and containing a well, of which whoso- 

 ever drank for a continuance of fifty days would find his understand- 

 ing enlivened, and his eye-sight brightened. The modern literati 

 of India, if such there are, seem to have forsaken this Pierian 

 spring, as very few traits of genius appear among them. That a 

 few men from the brahmin seminaries may occasionally appear 

 in the path of science, is nothing extraordinary; but a female 

 scholar, like Avyar, is a prodigy in Hindostan. As such I have 

 been the more particular in her portrait; so contrasted in all 

 respects to that of the Hindoo, Mahomedan, and Parsee wo- 

 men. Whether confined within the secluded haram, or of more 

 easy access in a voluptuous city, the oriental females, far from 

 cultivating intellectual entertainment, pass their time either in 

 listless apathy, or personal decoration. The latter especially pre- 

 vails in a certain class of beauties, most accurately described by 

 an ancient prophet, as also the costume of her lovers: " Thou hast 

 washed thyself, and painted thine eyes; thou hast decked thyself 

 with ornaments, and seated tlryself upon a stately bed; with a 

 table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast placed incense and 

 oil. The voice of those that are at ease is with thee; of captains 

 and rulers of Assyria, desirable young men, clothed gorgeously; 

 and of Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon 

 their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads." 



Ostentatious splendour and pageantry formerly existed at 

 Surat, as much as in most oriental cities, where a nabob, or dele- 

 gate from the Mogul empire, held his court. His durbar was al- 



