144 



The Antiquities of the 



[No. 32, 



tlie father of his betrothed, as one of his own family, till the girl 

 comes of age, when the marriage is consummated, and he becomes a 

 partner in the general property of the family of his father-in-law." 

 This custom calls to mind the marriage, and conditions of it, of 

 Jacob with Rachel, thus narrated in Scripture. 



Verse 15. " And Laban said vmto Jacob, because thou art my 

 brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought ? tell me, 

 what shall thy wages be ? 



18. "And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven 

 years for Rachel thy younger daughter. 



20. " And Jacob served seven years for Rachel ; and they seemed 

 unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her." — Getiesis 

 XXXI. Chapter. 



From Hoolicul I went Eastward four miles to Kercottah, near 

 which Captain Lucas has erected a hunting lodge, on one of the 

 most charming spots the imagination can conceive. Seated on the 

 very brink of the Coonoor ravine it commands an extensive prospect 

 of Doda betta and other upland scenery of the Neilgherries, Coonoor 

 being immediately in front beyond the ravine and not a mile away ; 

 while to the right the eye may range along the chasm taking in 

 views of the ridges which terminate below Kotagherry and descend 

 abruptly upon the plains. At night the fires in different villages of 

 the low country may be distinctly seen, and the furnace of some 

 potter on the very edge of the horizon mistaken for a star. Not- 

 withstanding the assurances of the inhabitants of Kercottah that no 

 antiquities existed in their neighbourhood, I explored it, and found 

 three Cromledh on the hill above Captain Lucas's lodge. From Ker- 

 cottah the route now led through a forest for about two miles, we then 

 reached the fort without having experienced any of the obstacles in 

 shape of precipices or ravines I had been led to expect ; indeed this 

 side of the position is comparatively so weak that the Mussalmen go- 

 vernors of the FortinTippoo's time strengthened its defences by embraz- 

 ing and loopholing the wall to which they also added a banquette. 

 Entering the Fort by a gap in the wall I found the interior entirely 

 overgrown with jungle, though not so much as to hide the ruins of 

 many old walls, and the remains of a hut, pointed out as the place 

 where a Mahomedan Fakeer stayed for some days four years ago. ^ 

 traced the contour of the fortress, consisting of a wall five feet thick 

 for the most part, though of various heights, and constructed of 



