SALSETTE. 
271 
rable huts, scarcely deserving the name of villages, 
and inhabited by the destitute among the poorest 
Hindoos. Tanna, the capital, is a considerable town, 
populous, and with an aspect of prosperity that ren- 
ders it a cheerful residence to about a hundred Eu- 
ropean soldiers who have retired from the service 
and settled there with their families. The entire po- 
pulation of Salsette is estimated at fifty thousand 
souls; and the inhabitants generally, though the large 
majority of them are destitute to the last degree, are 
so peaceable, that in the year 1813, it was stated 
by the magistrate, that for upwards of two years no 
native of the island had been committed for trial. 
The dialect of the people is a strange jargon, being a 
mixture of several native dialects combined often with 
a barbarous English, which renders them altogether 
unintelligible to a stranger. 
Our halt for the night was in a small valley entirely 
surrounded by hills. It was a romantic spot, partially 
cleared from the jungle, and in the centre grew a small 
but vigorous banyan tree. Beneath its shade our fol- 
lowers quietly took up their quarters, having first pre- 
pared their curries, and refreshed themselves after a 
hot and painful march. 
A party of Nautch girls, on their way to Tanna, 
entertained our party with the native dance and song. 
As I gazed on the really merry scene I could not help 
feeling with the Arabian poet,* 
“ But ah ! thou know’st not in what youthful play, 
Our nights, beguil’d with pleasure, pass’d away ; 
* Lebid. 
