PANWELL. 171 
behaved young man, and in great favour with the Colonel. When 
presented to me, I expressed a wish to see his sister on my return, 
and asked whether it was against the Mahratta custom, that no pur- 
dah should be between us? He allowed that, by their own principles, 
there would be no impropriety in my seeing her, but that they 
had adopted from the Mussulmauns, since they had been so power- 
ful in India, the custom of keeping their women concealed. He, 
however, promised to do his best for me, if I would visit her on 
my return to Panwell; to which I consented. He did not appear in 
the morning, nor Dondoe Punt, the late Governor of Low Ghur, 
who had come down on a visit to the widow, probably also to assist 
in receiving the visit. As I suspected that their al)sence was meant 
as a mark of dignity, in stealing the compliment of the first visit, 
Mr. Frissel sent to them to say, that he expected they would come 
here. The answer was, they were coming immediately, which 
they did. 
Dondoe is a laughing old man, and talks a great deal. He soon 
began with Mr. Frissel about his own merits in giving up the fort to 
us, and his claims to compensation. To this but little was replied. 
We asked him respecting some steps down into the rock at the nar- 
row end of the fort. He said it was intended by one of the Sattera 
Rajahs, who visited the fort, to have made another outlet at that 
end, but it had never been completed. He allowed he had only 
three months provisions when he capitulated. The garrison, in his 
time, varied from one to three thousand men, according to circum- 
stances. He had lived there thirty years without ever descending, 
and complained that the climate below did not agree with him, 
but supposed he should soon get accustomed to it. He said that 
VQL. II. z 
