tary streams, affords many delightful prospects, and abounds with 
a variety offish and wiki fowl. 
The western hills near Fort Victoria, from being exposed to 
the sea wind, are bleak and barren: in the interior the lofty moun- 
tains are covered with trees and underwood, which soften their 
craggy precipices, and exhibit numerous springs, not common 
in the torrid zone: these not only add considerable beauty to the 
landscape, but cause an agreeable freshness in the atmosphere, 
and add to the luxuriance of the cultivated vales, abounding with 
rice, nalchnee, and other Indian grain. 
The villages in the Company’s districts, generally inhabited by 
Hindoos, are surrounded by cocoa-nut, tamarind, and mango 
trees: the houses are small, seldom more than a thatched cottage; 
but some of the dewals, or temples, situated in deep glens, over- 
shadowed by the burr-tree, have a solemn appearance. These 
secluded spots are occupied by Brahmins, whose religious ceremo- 
nies are strangely contrasted by the antic tricks of the monkeys, 
which, with green pigeons, bulbuls, and other birds, enliven the 
surrounding groves. 
We sometimes extended our rides for several miles into the 
Mahratta country, and frequently visited the village of Harrasar, 
celebrated for the sanctity of its temple, the beauty of the women, 
and for having been the residence of the ancestors of the Brahmin 
family who at present govern the Mahratta empire. It is inha- 
bited by a high caste of Brahmins; the women are certainly ex- 
tremely beautiful, characterized by an elegant form, antelope eyes, 
and a fairer complexion than the low r er classes of Hindoos: their 
jetty locks are richly adorned with jewels; their garment consists 
