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} 
4$00.] 
heer towards the south east, is the village 
of Sitakoon, celebrated for its hot springs : 
there are several baths or wells, two of 
which are under the care of some Brah- 
mins, who will not allow any body to 
profit by their mineral virtues without a 
previous application to themselves, ac- 
companied by certain offerings, indispen- 
sably necessary to conciliate the favour 
of the deity, under whose auspices the 
$prings are placed, and by whouin they 
are endowed with their healing qualities : 
the water is deemed efficacious for scro- 
phulous cases by outward application ; 
and taken internally, it promotes appe- 
tite and digestion, by removing obstruc- 
tions in the liver, spleen, and mesenteric 
glands, -Jars filled from the two hallowed 
Springs, are sent to distant parts of the 
cuuntry to the rajahs and great men, 
. who are unable, from illness or indolenee, 
. tO enjoy its virtues at the fountain-head. 
' The other springs possess equal virtue, 
but Brahminical cunning has contrived to 
destroy their reputation among the Hin 
dus. 
The day of my arrival at Mongheer, 
happened to be the anniversary of the 
storming of Tippoo’s lines, before Serin- 
gapatam, by Lord Cornwallis; and on 
my reaching bead-quariers to pay my re- 
spects to the commanding officer, 1 found 
all the ladies and gentlemen of the garri- 
son assembied in honour of the day, [ 
was favoured with a very polite invitation 
to join ‘them in tbe festival, which [ the 
more readily accepted, as I found among 
the party, some gentlemen of my acquain- 
tance, who were proceeding by land to 
Patna; and as they were amply provided 
with tents, carriage, cattle, and other 
conveniences, they obligingly gave me 
“an invitation to accompany them, which 
1 gladiy accepted, as it gave me a better 
opportunity of seeing the country, than I 
hadvhitherto enjoyed; besides the plea- 
gure of agreeable company, which my 
solitary travelling thus far, rendered pars 
ticularly desirable. Accordingly ou the 
14th, we commenced our march for 
Patna. The party consisted ef two officers 
going to join their corpsat Danapore, a 
gentieman settled at Patna in the com- 
mercial line, and an indigo-planter pro- 
ceeding to Ghazeepore ; tne officers were 
attended by a guard of twenty Seapoys, 
which, with our numerous servants and 
followers, gave a respectable appearance 
to ourencampment. Wegenerally com- 
menced our march at day-break, and sel- 
dom exceeded ten miles a-day; and that. 
eur people might have fimg to get on with 
7 
Narrative of a recent Towr in India. 
\ 
S71 
the tents and pitch them on the new 
ground, we madé@ excursions into the 
neighbouring villages, and amused oure 
selves with shooting until about nine 
o’clock, when we reached the encamp- 
ment, and sat down to a comfortable 
breakfast. The tents were always pitched 
in a tope, or under the branches of a 
banyan tree, to guarduus,against the ef 
fects uf the sun, whichiwe already began 
to feel rather powerful, while the incres- 
sed heat of the atmosphere, and the shart. 
dusty whirlwinds which began to make 
their appearance, denoted that the set- 
ting in of the hot westerly blasts might 
soon be expected. These whirlwinds 
are very common from about the middle 
of February, to the latter end of Mareh, 
and are excessively unpleasant and dis- 
agreeable: they rise suddenly, and 
whirling round with great rapidity, carry 
the dust, andother light matters that get 
within their sphere of action, to a consi- 
derable height intetheair. The natives, 
a y the Hindus, have a great ab- 
iorrence and dread of them, from a sue 
perstitious idea that they contain an evil 
spirit,, who, if they are net on their 
guard, will seize them as his prey; on 
this account, they take great pains to 
avoid them; but should one come on sa 
suddenly as to involve them in its vortex, 
they mutter a short prayer, then rear eut 
** Jou Shytaun”*- with all their might, - 
spitting all the time to show their detes- 
tation,and clapping their hands to frighten 
the fiend, When the whirlwind has spent - 
itself and left them unhurt, they con- 
gratulate each other on the victory they 
have gained over the evil one, which 
they ascribe to the purification they un- 
derwent that morning in the Ganges, or 
to the timely aid of the particular deity 
to whom they are in the habits of making 
their pious offerings, and whose protec- 
ticn they mentally invoke in the hour of 
engin 
The distance from Mongheer to Patna, 
is nbout one hundred miles, thraugh a 
country rich in cultivation, from the in- 
dustry of the invalid Seapoys, and their 
descendants, who aceupy a considerable 
part of it; immense ficlds of wheat and 
barley extended as far as the eye could 
reach; the villages looked cleanand cheer 
ful, and the mbhabitants were civil and 
obliging, without the fawning and timid 
servility which characterize the same 
class of people in Bengal. In the cool of 
the evening, a hoary veteran, who had 
® Satan avauns. 
‘ TISER 
