108 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
which is carried on to a most dreadful extent, is one 
of the bitter fruits of that exclusion peculiar to the 
laws of caste, which are the most pernicious ever in- 
troduced among human communities. 
Some time after the capture of these Phansigars, I 
passed the place where they had attempted to mur- 
der the Coorg. It was a retired spot upon the bank 
of the river, but at the same time so exceedingly pic- 
turesque, that I almost wondered how such a scene 
could be selected for the perpetration of such a crime. 
Here was everything to withdraw the mind from all 
vulgar associations and to lift it from nature up to na- 
ture’s God. A mangrove-tree raised its roots from the 
water, exhibiting one of those apparent anomalies in 
nature which unites wonder with admiration. This 
singular tree is certainly one of the most extraordinary 
productions of the vegetable kingdom : it grows to the 
height of from twenty to thirty feet; and is found 
chiefly on the margin of rivers not far from the sea, 
where its roots are nourished by the salt-water. It 
is likewise found in low grounds overflowed by the 
sea. A great number of long lateral branches pro- 
ject on all sides from the trunk to a great length; 
these are covered with clear glossy leaves of an ellip- 
tical form, and nearly half a foot long. 
Nothing can well exceed the strange appearance 
which this tree presents on first beholding it. The 
roots seem like a coarse network upon the surface of 
the water, above which the trunk is elevated several 
feet. From this there branch out a number of flexi- 
ble shoots, that take a circular direction downward, 
and, continually intersecting each other, resemble 
