Letter I.

Santa Cruz, Isle of Teneriffe, 1764-06June 1764.

I now begin to fulfill the promise
I made, of giving you a particular
account of whatsoever I should observe,
worthy of notice, either in the course of
my voyage, or during my residence in
India.

We arrived here after three weeks sail
from the Downs, the wind being uncommonly
fair. Notwithstanding the short B time B1v 2
time we had been at sea, every individual
on board seemed as much delighted
at the sight of land, as if all his cares
were at an end, and he should never
again be distressed by sea-sickness, or the
other inconveniences attendant on a
voyage.

The land being in most parts very
high, we had the pleasure of observing
it at a great distance, appearing at first
like clouds, afterwards like a ridge
of mountains, with the Peak, which is
conical, and of an astonishing height,
towering above the rest.

The Canary islands, of which there
are seven, are all subject to the king of
Spain; this is the largest except one,
which is called Grand Canaria. A French
ship driven amongst these islands by a
storm, gave the first account of them in
Europe, about the year 13301330, and the
reduction of them was attempted by some
Spaniards in about 13371337, but the people
who landed were all taken prisoners by B2r 3
by the natives. About thirty years after,
the Spaniards made a descent on Lancerota,
and by degrees made themselves
masters of that island, and the five others;
at last they took possession of Teneriffe,
and brought all the inhabitants over to
the Christian Faith.

It was not without much difficulty,
and after various attempts, that the Spaniards
took this island: the natives defended
themselves with great bravery, at
the same time that they treated the Spaniards
with humanity; but at length the
numbers of the Spaniards prevailed, and
the natives submitted to their government,
and became Christians.

The entire reduction of Teneriffe,
which finished the conquest of the Canary
islands, was effected in the year 14951495;
when the Spaniards built a fort at this
port, which they called Santa Cruz, and
the town is called by the same name. On
the plains of Laguna they likewise built B2 the B2v 4
a city, and called it the city of Laguna,
or Saint de la Laguna.

Santa Cruz consists of two or three
streets, which are broad, but remarkably
ill-paved; the houses are all white on the
outside; those belonging to the principal
people are large, and the different
apartments, which are all up stairs, are
built round a court or square, with a
gallery on all sides leading to the rooms,
which are mostly spacious, but are calculated
more for coolness than for shew:
The windows are not glazed but latticed,
which give the houses, both on the in
and outside, a mean appearance. But
the lattices have these two conveniencies,
they admit the air, and give the ladies
an opportunity of looking out without
being seen.

The walls are white, and the doors,
&c. without paint or ornament; which
altogether convey to the mind of a person
just come from England, an
idea of rooms not quite finished.

The houses of the common people are
very mean, with a look of much poverty.
Even the churches are mean, and the
priests though few, seemingly poor and
humble.

The number of inhabitants on the island
are computed to be 96000. The governor
and officers are appointed by the
king of Spain; the inhabitants are all
Spanish subjects, and the Europeans
call themselves Spaniards; some are
really from Spain, others born here of
Spanish parents; but a far greater number
are descendants of Irish Roman Catholic
families who about the end of
the last century found it necessary to seek
in this island that liberty and protection
which their own country, at that period,
did not afford them.

The original natives of this island were
called Guanches. The account which
the Spaniards give of them, is, that
their ancestors found them almost in a B3 state B3v 6
state of nature, without laws or religion,
and unable to give any account of
their origin. It has been conjectured
by some, that they were emigrants from
Carthage. The Spaniards call them
Moors, but what is their reason for giving
them that appellation I know not. These
Moors, the descendants of the Guanches,
are mostly labourers and servants; they
are much darker than the Spaniards,
have lively black eyes, long black hair,
are remarkable fine teeth.

Letter Ⅱ.

Santa Cruz, 1764-06June 1764.

Although Teneriffe is only
three weeks sail from England, the
whole appearance and manner of the people
and things is so different, that it seems
to us quite another world; the religion,
dress, address, houses, cookery, &c. are
so very different. It is, in short, a poor
Roman Catholic country, which are
every where pretty much the same,
making a proper allowance for the solemnity
of the Spaniards, which differs
from the softness of the Italians, and the
forward complaisance of the French.

The Spaniards are less known to their
neighbours than the people of any other
great nation, because they do not travel
much, and their own country is but little
visited by strangers: The first cause (it
must be confessed) is a proof that they
have little desire of improvement, and B4 the B4v 8
the second, that their neighbours do not
believe there is much to be learned from
them.

However, wedded as they are to their
ancient customs and superstitions, I am
still of opinion, that, were they better
known to us, we might find, that, in a
balance of virtues and vices, they would
stand as good a chance to preponderate
in the right scale, as most of their neighbours.

There is one part of the national character
over which charity would wish to
throw a veil; but alas! the persecutions
in America will ever be remembered; although
perhaps we are mistaken in the
motive, and attribute that to avarice and
a cruelty of temper which is occasioned by
a blind superstition and religious enthusiasm.
In all points, except religion and
jealousy, no people can shew more mildness
of manners, kind in the greatest degree
to their domestics, whom they treat
almost as their children.

The common people are not laborious,
but that defect seems to be compensated
for by their being contented with a little,
their abstemiousness, the sobriety and regularity
of their lives.

The pride which the Spaniards are accused
of, although it is not without a
dash of vanity, is mostly of that sort which
makes people ashamed of unworthy actions;
and they are remarkable for a high
sense of honour, and a strict regard to their
word.

But above all other virtues, they seem
to lay a stress upon the duty and obedience
of children to their parents, particularly
their mothers; and they go so far
as to say, that, if there could be a man
amongst them undutiful in this point, he
would be shuned as a monster.

Letter Ⅲ.

Santa Cruz, 1764-06June 1764.

Since my last, I have made a little
excursion, which was pleasing on
account of its novelty, both as to the
objects which presented themselves, and
my manner of performing it; than
which nothing can be more ridiculous.
Fancy that you see me meekly riding
upon an ass, which is the way all ladies
are obliged to travel here, on account of
commotions in the earth which have happened
formerly, and have thrown up such
prodigious heaps of large stones in some
places, and sunk the ground so much in
others, that it is impossible for a carriage
to move, and extremely dangerous to
venture on horseback; therefore the ladies
all ride upon asses, and the men on
mules: two cross sticks are fixed on the
neck of the animal, and two behind, with
a cushion laid between, by which means
one sits almost as if in a carriage, and a
man leads the ass.

Our journey was to Laguna, usually
called the city: which is a pretty large
town, and regularly built, but quite
unornamented, and silent as the
night. Many of the principal people
at Santa Cruz have houses there, which
they go to by way of retirement from business.
Laguna is about five miles from
the sea, the road to it, if it can be called
a road, is all the way up hill, in some
parts steep, craggy, incumbered with
pieces of loose rock, and of a most barren
appearance; notwithstanding which, one
sees here and there a scattered vineyard,
which thrives amongst the stones. As
soon as we arrived at the city, we found
ourselves in another climate; instead of
the heat, which at Santa Cruz is very
great, it is there so cool that we walked
in the sun at mid-day with pleasure, and
the air was fresh and perfectly agreeable.
Laguna stands on an eminence, and Santa
Cruz in a valley; but, after allowing for
these circumstances, and the accidental difference
of soil, &c. the change appears to B6v 12
to me to be greater, than with all these
allowances one could possibly suppose
within the distance of five miles.

Our curiosity was soon satisfied, as
Laguna does not contain any remarkable
beauties, either of art or nature: the
principal church is decorated with images
of the Virgin, and a few paintings in a
tawdry stile.—But what I had the greatest
desire to see was a nunnery; a nunnery
must surely be a charming place, at least
to look at. Thither the young and beautiful
retire, they renounce the pleasures,
the cares, and the follies of the world!
they spend their lives in piety, in praise
of their Maker, in innocence! they exert
their ingenuity in beautiful works of
fancy; they repose themselves in the
shady bowers of their delightful gardens.

For policy, knowing that they have
relinquished every tender tie of duty,
of friendship, and of love, has endeavoured,
by the commodiousness of their
retirement, to soften their sense of the
confinement.

Impressed then as I was with this idea
of spacious gardens, magnificent buildings,
and beautiful virgins; how great
was my disappointment! to find the
buildings mean, dirty, and confined, the
Nuns old and very plain. They talked
to us through the grates with great civility,
and presented us with some trifling
flowers of their making.

We found one English woman among
the nuns, who served as interpreter,
though indeed not a very good one, for
as she came here in her youth, and is now
grown old without having occasion to
speak her native language, she has partly
forgot it.—She would not acknowledge,
that any one after taking the veil ever
repented of it; and, upon some of the
English gentleman seeming to doubt her,
made use of this remarkable expression,
“No, no! they must not repent of it.” In
short, she expressed herself happy in her
situation, with how much sincerity I shall
not pretend to determine.

By her account, the life of a nun
differs little from that of a girl at school;
and the Abbess is a sort of Governess; they
are obliged to conform punctually to the
hours of rising, dining, prayer, &c.
shut up with the same companions constantly,
whether pleasing or disagreeable;
with the addition of this most dreadful
reflection, that death only can release
them.

Letter Ⅳ.

Santa Cruz, 1764-06June 1764.

It seems as if the Spaniards themselves
began to be sensible of very bad
consequences, from shutting young girls
up from the world; for the court of Madrid
has lately published a decree (which
extends likewise to these islands) forbiding
any woman to take the veil till the age
of twenty-five; a considerable change,
in a country where every innovation
is regarded by the people as an attempt to
overturn the ancient form of government;
and the more to be wondered at, as such
a change must, for obvious reasons, be
very disagreeable to the Clergy.

The monasteries are as mean and miserable
as the nunneries.—I believe no protestant
ever saw a monastery, without reflecting
as I do now, on the indolence and
inutility of a monastic life, and the folly
of its mortifications.

I should suppose, that Monks will be
as numerous amongst the Spaniards as
amongst any people, since it favours
both their pride and their indolence,
two qualities which I believe no country
in Europe will pretend to dispute with
them.

After we had visited the nuns, we
took a ride without the city, in order to
have a better view of the famous Peak;
here our eyes were suddenly delighted
with the sight of a little verdant plain, a
beauty in nature which is always delightful,
but incomparably more so, when the
eye has been fatigued with barrenness;
the Peak is at the distance of near sixty
miles, but from its amazing height one
appears to be close under it; it is a dark
brown rock, much the shape of a sugarloaf,
only that its height is greater in
proportion to its breadth, so that its ascent
is almost perpendicular; the Spaniards
assert, that it is three miles in height,
and that those who had been hardy enough C1r 17
enough to climb to the top of it, have
found it the labour of three days: It is
not at present a Volcano, and the inhabitants
seem to sleep in as perfect security,
as if it never had thrown out any eruptions,
although according to tradition,
it is not more than seventy years since
the country was despoiled by the vast
quantities of sulphur and melted ore
which issued from it; and no doubt,
from the present barren, rocky, and desolate
appearance of great part of the
island, the commotions of the earth must
likewise have been very terrible.

The coast supplies the inhabitants with
fish in abundance, and notwithstanding
the appearance of the country, provisions
of all sorts are in sufficient plenty; likewise
fruits such as are usual in hot climates,
figs, plantaines or bananas, lemons,
almonds, grapes, &c.

A considerable quantity of wine,
known by the name of the country, is
made annually and exported; it is somethingC thing C1v 18
like Madeira, but not quite so
good, although I believe it sometimes
passes for it.

Letter Ⅴ.

Santa Cruz, 1764-06June 1764.

The excessive obedience of sons to
their mothers, although it is an admirable
quality amongst the Spaniards,
is nevertheless, not without its inconveniencies,
even to the women; for although
it makes them of more consequence
in old age, it makes them less
happy and independent in youth and the
prime of life.

Almost every family has a mother,
aunt, or some sage matron, who is the
oracle, and no woman is thought at years
of discretion before she is grey headed:
thus a young woman, when she marries,
only passes from one tutelage to another; from C2r 19
from the directions of her own relations,
to that of her husband’s.

The excess of this national virtue,
seems to account for the horror the Castilians
and other Spaniards conceived at
the Emperor Charles the Fifth; for although
Johanah was absolutely in a state
of lunacy, the Spaniards could not prevail
on themselves to exclude her from
the throne: And Charles’s imprudence
(and perhaps not knowing the disposition
of the Spaniards) in suffering himself to
be proclaimed King in the life-time of
his mother, appeared to them so very
impious, that nothing but his own good
fortune could have obviated the difficulties
it occasioned.

The ladies at Teneriffe lead the most
retired lives imaginable, they very seldom
leave their own houses, except going to
church, and even there a young one does
not venture without some elderly lady to
attend her; no one ever goes out in the
day-time without a veil; the veil is exactlyC2 ly C2v 20
like two petticoats sewed together
made of black serge, the one serves as an
upper petticoat, and the other comes over
the head, so that the woman is entirely
covered by it, except a little over one
eye, which is left open for her to guide
herself by.

Notwithstanding the retiredness of
their lives, the Senioras of Teneriffe are
possessed of the most agreeable vivacity,
which fully compensates for their want of
beauty, and makes them exceedingly
pleasing; their lively black eyes are expressive
of their tempers; they have mostly
long black hair, which they braid,
and let it hang down their backs like a
queue, without any head-dress; their complexions
are very dark, and features not
pleasing.—The dress is a jacket and petticoat
with extreme stiff stays, and yet
none of them are crooked; they have earrings,
bracelets, and crosses; the jewels
they esteem are emeralds and the oriental
pearl.—They perfume themselves exceedingly
high, and some of them paint.

Besides the law I mentioned relative to
the Nuns, the king of Spain has issued
out another order, which likewise concerns
the women. It is that no one shall appear
in Madrid after it is dark with a
veil, the spirit of intrigue which the
Spaniards have always been famous for
has made this necessary. The ladies in
this place, although not obliged, conform
to it as a new fashion; therefore
when they walk by moon-light, which is
indeed the only time for walking, they
wear a little cloak.

Letter Ⅵ.

Bay of St. Salvador, Coast of Brazil, 1764-08Aug. 1764.

It is with the greatest pleasure in the
world I now sit down to tell you,
that after a long, dangerous, and uncomfortable
voyage from Teneriffe, we are at C3 last C3v 22
last arrived safe in the bay of St. Salvador,
otherwise Bahia, on the coast of Brazil,
and hope soon to be on shore.

I am mortified at being obliged to stay
till the captain’s return, being already informed
that I must not leave the ship till
I have obtained leave from the Governor.

Several Portuguese gentlemen are
come on board by the governor’s order,
two or three civilians, an officer of the
army, a doctor, and a French surgeon:
The two last to examine whether any
contagious disorders are amongst the
crew. The others to enquire the number
of troops, the articles of trade, the captain’s
motive for making this port, &c. &c.
all which they do in a manner which shews
them to be distrustful and suspicious.
They have either a very bad opinion of
the English, or are not very honourable
and sincere themselves.

In the mean while we have received
from the shore, such fruit as the cold 5 climate C4r 23
climate of England never can produce,
and it is doubly welcome to people who
have seen none for a long time.

My impatience to be on shore is increased
by the appearance of the town,
which at this distance looks delightful.
The part we see of it stands upon the side
of a steep hill, with streets of white
houses one above another, intermixed in
some parts with small plantations of sugar
canes, which, from the reflection of the
sun, in these unclouded skies, have a very
beautiful effect. Perhaps the having been
deprived of the sight of land for some
time, may add to its charms; but I really
think I never saw a more beautiful landscape.

The reflection of heat from the land
on all sides of the bay, together with the
burning sun, make every part of the ship
like an oven,

Until I have the pleasure to address
you from the shore, I remain, &c.

Letter Ⅶ.

St. Salvador, 1764-08Aug. 1764.

I am not a woman of much penetration,
otherwise I should have known
that things are not always what they seem;
and I should have been less surprised, at
finding that the nearer we came to St. Salvador,
the less delightful it appeared;
like many other things, which please only
when viewed at a distance; as we rowed
nearer the town, the houses which at the
distance of a league looked so shining
white, lost all their beauty; the dirt they
are covered with became visible, the
clumsy wooden windows, doors, and
lattices, without the ornament of paint,
grew more distinct, the want of elegance
in the tout ensemble disgusted, and in short
the delusion vanished.

I am lodged at the house of the French
surgeon I mentioned: he is married to a
Portuguese native.

I much fear I shall not enjoy the respite
from ship-board as I wish, on account
of the very disagreeable confinement I
am under, in the most suspicious, most
unhospitable government.

Every since I have been on shore, I have
been followed and attended by an officer
and a soldier, so much that I cannot walk
out of one room into another, without
being followed by them; the first night
I came on shore, they slept in the passage
adjoining to my room, but have since
relaxed so much of their severity, as to
go home at night, and return in the
morning.

I have complained of this attendance,
but without being able to obtain redress.
I am told that it is a compliment, and to
prevent my being affronted: But it does
not require much penetration to discover that C5v 26
that it is to prevent my going to the
nunneries, of which they are exceedingly
jealous, or becoming acquainted with any
of their women; what danger they apprehend
from it, is beyond my comprehension.

Fortunately I am in no danger either
of corrupting my landlady, or of gaining
any intelligence from her, for she speaks
no language but her own, which I do
not understand a word of.

But amongst these Portuguese, where
I little expected such a satisfaction, I have
the pleasure to meet with one English
woman: Her father was a merchant at
Lisbon, and a Roman Catholic: at Lisbon
she married a Portuguese gentleman,
who, with his family, is since come
to settle here; the good lady was rejoiced
to find one of her country women come to
the place, and her husband waited on
the Governor, to beg leave for me to reside
at his house; but was answered, that
two English women in one house was too much. C6r 27
much. But what is still more extraordinary,
I did not see her till two or three
days after I came on shore, and the reason
was, she waited the Governor’s permission
to make me a visit.

Good heavens! what a government is
this to live under! these things astonish
us, who are not satisfied even with liberty.

Letter Ⅷ.

St. Salvador, 1764-08Aug. 1764.

My desire of communicating to you
my observations on whatever I
see, has made me very attentive to the
customs and government of this country,
but indeed with very little success; for the
inhospitable disposition of the Portuguese
to strangers, gives one but little opportunity
of making observations; and their
suspicious tempers, do not leave one at
free liberty to enquire.

The people are all called Portuguese,
of whom some are descended from those
who settled here when Portugal first took
possession of this coast, and their numbers
have since been constantly increasing
by families from the mother country,
who are allured by the hope of enriching
themselves.

They come here with a different view
to what English people have when they
quit their native country for any foreign
settlement: We always flatter ourselves
with hopes of returning home again, but
these generally settle themselves and families
for generations, and look upon it
as their future home.

If they are satisfied, it is well, if not, it
is doubly hard, on account of the difficulty
attending their return. No inhabitant
being allowed to leave the place
without an express order from Portugal;
the obtaining of which is attended with
such infinite trouble and length of time, as C7r 29
as make it amount almost to an impossibility.

Any foreigner who once takes up his
residence here, finds it equally difficult
to return: I believe they have very few
foreigners but those they have seduced
from ships which touch at the port. Several
poor unhappy English fellows are
here for the remainder of their wretched
lives, which they languish out in poverty
and contempt, and are watched with such
particular caution whenever any foreign
ship arrives here, as makes their escape
impracticable.

You will easily conceive from this attention
to keep every person from departing,
that it is not desirable country to
live in.

The government is in itself a most
extraordinary one: I know not whether
to call it ecclesiastical, civil, or military:
here are three who are said to have an
equal share in the government, viz. a Bishop C7v 30
Bishop, a Colonel, and a Civil Layman.
As they keep foreigners so much at a
distance, it is impossible to tell which is
the head; all we know is, that whenever
any application is made for necessaries of
provision or accommodation; if they are
granted at all, it is with much delay and
difficulty; under pretence that the Colonel
cannot do it because the Governor
is out of town, or the Governor cannot do
it because the Colonel is absent, or both
these together can do nothing without the
Bishop.

Therefore if any stranger is plundered
or cheated, as the Portuguese are the
greatest thieves upon the earth, no redress
can be obtained, from the chicanery I
have mentioned.

But by whatever name they may call
the form of government, the church appears
to carry all before it; the liberties
the priests take, are abominably insolent
and oppressive, they come into any
house they please, dine and sup without invi- C8r 31
invitation; dictate in conversation, and
are admitted into the private apartments
of the women, which does not seem to
suit with the natural jealousy of the Portuguese,
who in other respects appear to
be very suspicious of their wives and
daughters, seldom allowing them to be in
company, or with their knowledge, to be
seen by any other men, unless they are
relations.

I am told, that this town alone does
not contain less than three thousand religious,
of different orders. No court
of inquisition is kept here, but many inquisitors,
who take cognizance of any
misdemeanors, and confine and send to
Portugal, any persons accused of spiritual
crimes.

America has ever been the rendezvous
of the Jesuits, and many are still in Brazil,
notwithstanding the king has had resolution
enough to banish them from
Portugal.

The next in authority to the religious,
are the military: a man trembles at the
sight of a soldier in his house, and is
obliged to treat every private man with
as much respect and deference as if he
was his master.

And yet, what is very extraordinary,
these soldiers, who are so formidable to the
inhabitants, are no more than a sort of
militia, who in general follow different
trades, both men and officers. But on
the arrival of any foreign ship, an extraordinary
number of them are put upon
duty, and dressed in their uniforms, which
is blue turned up with red. However
little reason an enemy might have to fear
these “men of war”, they are sufficiently
feared by their fellow citizens.

So that between the subtle wiles of the
priests, and the open violence of the
military, the simple inhabitant must live
in a wretched state of awe and dependance.

We have amused ourselves since we
came here, in seeing the town, and visiting
the churches: The town is large and
populous, and the upper part of it is
pleasant and airy, consisting of many
good streets, broad and clean; the houses
are large, but very ill-finished, and of
a mean appearance; all that part of the
town next the sea, the streets are narrow
and dirty, full of mean looking shops,
and crouded with negro slaves of both
sexes.

The people of any fashion all live up
stairs, and the ground floors are made
use of as shops, warehouses, &c. The
houses are not more elegant in the apartments
than the outsides. The first floor
generally consists of two or three large
rooms, and always a small bed-room in
the middle, so situated, as to receive no
light but from the others, consequently
quite dark when the doors are shut.
Above these are the apartments of the
children and slaves.

As to furniture, the once whited walls
are generally adorned with prints of our
Saviour and the Virgin in strong wooden
frames, a couch, a few wooden chairs,
and a crucifix finishes the apartment.
Any yet they have jewels, and gold, and
silver, and many slaves; but the arts do
not flourish amongst them, and taste and
elegance in furniture and equipage is unknown:
besides, where the greatest security
is in poverty, every one fears to
make an appearance, which might subject
him to persecution.

The only buildings worthy observation
are the churches, which are numerous,
some of them large and superb, and
by being unincumbered with pews, the
double row of pillars have a very fine effect
and give the whole choir an open
airy appearance which our churches can
never have: they are kept in the neatest
order, and adorned, particularly the altars,
with carving, paintings, and gilding;
with candlesticks and ornaments of gold
and silver to a vast expence.

In one of the churches, I was shewn
two superb images of our Saviour and the
Virgin larger than life, they are kept in
a separate apartment richly dressed, and
have several priests to attend them, who
were so civil as to open all their drawers,
and shew me the rich embroidered
cloaths, and fine jewels, with which these
goodly images are decked upon solemn
occasions.

The convents attached to the churches
are likewise handsome buildings, with
porticoes and cloisters, where the priests
have their separate apartments, in which
they enjoy all the luxuries of life. In
short, these proud lazy pampered priests
are a direct contrast to the poor, humble,
mortified Monks of Teneriffe.

The priests certainly have some reason
to value themselves, for all the little
learning of the country is centered in
them: This rich and populous place does
not afford one academy of any kind; D2 reading D2v 36
reading and writing is the usual education
of the youth, if to this is added a little
Portuguese Latin, the boy is fit for a
Bishop.

It is surprising, that in a country so
nearly connected with a kingdom in Europe,
as this is with Portugal, the arts
and sciences should be so utterly unknown.
The paintings, &c. which they have in
the churches, are from Europe: The inhabitants
seem to have very little idea of
the elegancies of life; they spend their
time in great indolence, and knowledge
is shut out from them, by their being
allowed to read very few books which
can give them information.

It is policy of the government to
keep the people in ignorance, which
makes them more docile under an arbitrary
sway.

Knowledge of the laws and customs of
different countries, the blessing of a moderate
government, and indeed learning in D3r 37
in general, is apt to inspire people with a
confidence in thinking, which makes
them sensible of every oppression they labour
under.

They compare their own laws, and the
impartiality with which they are put in
execution, with those of other countries;
and sometimes, if they are under a happy
government, are sensible of the blessing;
but if not, are always sure to be sensible
of its defects.

Corruption in the state, is naturally
followed by corruption in the minds of
the people: the more they are actuated
by the principle of fear, the less they have
of honour; and the more difficulty they
find in obtaining justice, the greater will
be their craft and dishonesty; until every
man looks upon his neighbour with an
eye of suspicion and distrust.

It is amusing, and at the same time
melancholy, to reflect on the extraordinary
rise and fall of particular nations; D3 Por- D3v 38
Portugal, whose commerce and navigation
once extended itself over both Indies; and
who set the example to all Europe, to explore
the riches, and form settlements in
the East, is now so sunk, that one can
scarcely believe the present race to be
descendants of those who lived some ages
since.—All history does not furnish a
more remarkable instance of national virtue
and resolution, than the manner of
the Portuguese throwing off the Spanish
yoke.

When one considers the great number
of people of all ranks intrusted with the
Duke of Braganza’s intention, and the
long time they had to keep it secret; let a
change have been ever so necessary for the
public good, or the burthen to individuals
ever so grievous, it is nevertheless extraordinary,
that either fear of punishment,
or hope of reward, should not induce
some of them to betray the secret.

Letter Ⅸ.

Saint Salvador, 1764-08August 1764.

Although I am not permitted
to visit the nunneries, Mrs. R.
has been so kind as to carry me to a private
Convent, where I saw several young
women dressed like Nuns. One amongst
them I could not help particularly observing;
she was the picture of sorrow. I
naturally enquired what was the cause,
and heard a story, which shews the dreadful
power of the inquisition, and how little
property, or even life, is secure, in a
country where such a tribunal, or any of
its ministers are permitted.

Her father, said she, was a worthy
good man; but he was very rich, and it
happened to be known that he was so:
The inquisitors, without letting him or
his friends know what was his crime,
pretended that he had been accused of
heresy; they seized him, took possession D4 of D4v 40
of his house, &c.; and his family, not
knowing whether he is sent to Portugal,
whether he is confined here, or certainly
whether he is dead or alive, are ever since
in a state of anxiety between hope and
fear.

We are shocked with the frequent accounts
we hear of murders. If a Portuguese
has received any injury or affront,
he cannot as in England have recourse to
the laws to do him justice; the church interferes
in every thing, and the thunder
of the inquisition perverts the natural
course of justice, but revenge! bloody
revenge! soon or late, is sure to follow.

The offended person watches his adversary,
till some time or other he finds
him alone, unarmed, and in the dark;
then, either with his own hand, or by
the hand of an assassin, which a little
money will procure, he stabs him in the
back, and then takes sanctuary at the
altar of some church; where confession
and alms procure his pardon: there he I is D5r 41
is as secure from being brought to punishment,
as if he was not in the country.
If his friends can procure his pardon, he
in a short time appears in the world
again as before; if not, he turns priest,
and is received into the body of the
church as a true penitent.

Letter Ⅹ.

Saint Salvador, 1764-08Aug. 1764.

After what I have said of the
general character of the men of
this place, you will not expect to hear
much in praise of the women; brought
up in indolence, and their minds uncultivated,
their natural quickness shews itself
in cunning. As their male relations do
not place any confidence in their virtue,
they in return use their utmost art to elude
the vigilance with which they are observed;
and, to speak the most favourably,
a spirit of intrigue reigns amongst
them. Were I to tell you what the darknessness D5v 42
of the evening conceals, amongst
such as are not to be seen in the day but
in a church, it would look like a libel on
the sex.

Many of them, when they are quite
young, have delicate features and persons,
but there is a certain yellow tint in their
complexions which is disagreeable, and
beside they look old very early in life.

The dress is calculated for a hot climate;
the best-dressed woman I have
seen, had on a chintz petticoat, a flowered
muslin shift, with deep ruffles, and a
tucker of the same sewed upon it, without
any stays or gown, but a large sash of
crimson velvet, thrown round and round
her waist. Her hair was braided behind,
and fastened up with a great many
combs; she had drops in her ears, and her
hair was ornamented with sort of egret,
or rather a large lump of massive gold,
embossed and set with diamonds; on her
neck were several rows of small gold
chain; and on her arms she had bracelets 4 of D6r 43
of gold of great thickness, and each of
them wide enough for two. A pair of
slippers like the sash, completed the dress.

Letter Ⅺ.

St. Salvador, 1764-09Sept. 1764.

Since the conclusion of my last,
we obtained leave to go a few miles
into the country, for we dared not go without,
and then not without our attendants.

We were much delighted with our
little excursion, which afforded us a view
of a rich, fruitful, and beautiful, though
almost uncultivated, country. After going
for some time through cool shady
lanes, which terminated in an open airy
plain, we had a most pleasing view of the
sea. Little rural cottages are scattered
about the country, and gardens with variety
of fruits, plantains, melons, tamarinds,rinds, D6v 44
limes, citrons, lemons, sweet lemons,
pomgranates, water melons, and
lofty trees bending under the weight of
oranges, a fruit which are here in the
greatest plenty and perfection: a particular
species of them are four times as large as
those you have from Spain and Portugal,
have no seeds, and are of a delicious flavour.

The husbandman’s labour is little required,
in a soil and climate like this,
where the richest fruits of the earth
grow almost spontaneously.

How much did we enjoy the freshness
of the evening air! which in this hot town
we are deprived of in the day time, and
the delightful shade of the wide spreading
trees, a pleasure which can be known
in its full extent only in these climates,
where the sultry heat of the sun is intolerable!
The clearness and brightness of
the sky add indeed to the beauty of a
prospect, and throw a double gloom
upon the shade. But in your cold
frozen clime, the glorious sun is always welcome, D7r 45
welcome, seldom too powerful, and too
often absent.

Further distant in the country, chiefly
along the sea coast, are large plantations
of sugar and tobacco, which belong to
the Portuguese, who reside at St. Salvador;
each of them employs a great number
of slaves.

But it is not the tobacco, or the sugar,
or the fertility of the earth, which have
brought christian adventurers here; but
the riches which the bowels of the earth
contain, and which these Indians value
not. The diamond mines all belong
to the king, and are a great source of his
riches; although the diamonds are
esteemed not quite so fine as those of
Golconda, having something of a yellow
cast: here are likewise some amethysts,
and a great number of topazes, which
are to be bought exceedingly cheap.

I don’t know whether it is, that the
soil or climate is not proper for corn, or whether D7v 46
whether the inhabitants are too indolent
to cultivate it; but it is certain,
that the Portuguese do not grow
near enough to supply their own tables;
but eat Cassada pulverized, they call it
“farinna de Pao”, which is literally
powder of post, and a most proper name;
for it has no kind of taste, but feels in
the mouth like chaff; it is not made into
bread, but stands upon the table in a dish.

As it is not customary to trust foreigners
with horses, we were obliged to go
our little excursion in chairs, and these
being as extraordinary as any thing I have
seen in the country, I shall endeavour to
describe them. They are of an oblong
make, one pole is fixed before and one
behind, the top and bottom are fastened
together by the pieces of wood to which
the poles are sized, and no other woodwork
round it, but curtains from top to
bottom made of camblet and lined with
bays, calculated, one would suppose, rather
for the frigid than the torrid zone;
at the back part is a little seat about the breadth D8r 47
breadth of two hands; I suppose those
who are used to them, can sit very well;
but between the narrowness of the seat,
and the motion of the chair, a stranger
is in danger of being thrown out at every
step. The chair is carried by two negro
slaves on their shoulders; at every
step the foremost gives a groan, which
the other answers: this helps to make
them keep an equal pace; but it is
a melancholy disagreeable noise, and
when we first came on shore, hearing the
slaves, who were in parties, carrying any
thing from one place to another, utter
these kind of moans, we thought they
were oppressed with burthens beyond
their strength; which excited in us much
pity for the slaves, and accordingly great
contempt for their masters.

I must not omit giving you an account
of a wonderful creature, which the Portuguese
are constantly talking of, and insist
upon my believing: Their account is
as follows; that a creature of the serpent
kind, which is found in low marshy ground, D8v 48
ground, chiefly along the borders of rivers,
is so large that it will swallow a
bullock whole; the method is this, it
begins at the tail of the beast, and licks
it all over with its tongue, and strength
of which, and the uncommon quality of
the saliva, is such, that it breaks every
bone, and makes the whole carcase soft
and glutinous, by which means the serpent
sucks down a creature much larger
than itself. They add likewise that a
great many human lives are lost by these
serpents, for whenever any man is so unfortunate
as to be within sight of one of
them, it is impossible for him to make
his escape: I have no great faith in these
my informers, but I must observe, that
Don Ulloa, whom I esteem a good authority,
mentions in his voyage, creatures
which answer to this description.

Letter Ⅻ.

St. Salvador, 1764-09Sept. 1764.

I Fear that whatever I have yet said of the
Portuguese on this coast, shews them
to have more vices than virtues; therefore
I am happy before I leave them, to observe
to their honour, that in the midst of all
their vices, they have shewed great humanity,
as well as policy, in their treatment
of the original natives in this country,
whom they have left a free though
conquered people; they are not either
servants or shaves, but are mostly retired
to the interior parts of the country, where
they are governed by their own laws, and
exercise their own religion—The Portuguese,
in this, have not followed the
cruel example of their neighbors the
Spaniards; whose religious zeal has carried
them to the height of barbarity: the
methods they have taken to make the E Americans E1v 50
Americans in that part of the country
they have conquered, embrace the christian
religion, is a disgrace not only to christianity,
but to human nature.―The Portuguese
have missionaries dispersed throughout
the country: and it is not, they say,
very unusual for the natives to become
Christians; but when they do, it is not
by compulsion.

All the servants both men and women
are slaves, brought from Africa, of the
negro kind; by nature disagreeable, but
often rendered still more so, by frightful
marks on their faces, made by their parents
when they are young; they are all
made christians as soon as bought, and it
is amazing to see the effect the pageantry
of the Roman Catholic religion has upon
their uninformed minds; they are as devout
as the common people in our cities
are prophane; constant at their worship,
obedient to their preceptors without scruple,
and inspired with all the enthusiasm
of devotion; the gilded pomp, the solemnity
of processions, the mysterious rites, E2r 51
rites, the fear as well as admiration of
their ghostly fathers, all conspire to
render them so.

From the warm and steady devotion
of the common people here, it has often
occurred to me, that the plain good sense
of the protestant worship, so well calculated
for those who can distinguish the
substance from the shadow, is much
wanting in that glare and shew, which
catches the eye, and leads the imagination
of the vulgar. Confession itself, was it
not abused, is an excellent institution; and
were the Roman Catholic priests to take
as much care of the morals of their flock,
as they do to attach them to the church,
they would be the most virtuous common
people in the world.

It must seem strange, that whatever
subject I begin a letter upon, it generally
slides into religion before I finish it: but
it cannot be otherwise, where the forms
of religion encompass every thing, where
one half of the people are governed by E2 super- E2v 52
superstition, and the other half make use
of it to govern with.

May you enjoy long life, in that
country, where men profess less zeal,
and practise more virtue.

Letter XⅢ.

Cape of Good Hope, 1764-11Nov. 1764.

I Have now the pleasure to address you
from a place which travellers have
spoken of in the highest terms, and indeed
not without some reason.

For, besides the great conveniencies,
refreshments, and good accommodations
to be met with here, I think every one
must be pleased with the town, which has E3r 53
has all the regularity and neatness usual
amongst the Dutch: the streets are all
parallel to each other; and there is one
large square with trees planted round, and
a canal of water from springs running
down: the houses are very good, and have
a neat appearance on the outside; which
altogether make it a very pretty town,
and, some few circumstances excepted,
equal in neatness and conveniences to
any of our sea-ports in England. The governor’s
garden, as it is called, is a very
large garden belonging to the Dutch
East India Company, where strangers,
and sometimes the inhabitants, walk by
way of mall: the method this is laid out
in appears something extraordinary. In
the middle, is one very long broad walk,
planted on each side with oaks, which
stand very close, and the boughs spread
in such a manner as to have exactly the
appearance of espaliers, which, although
tall for such ornament, are short for oaks;
the rest of the garden is divided into
squares, and planted on each side the
walks in the same manner; within the E3 squares E3v 54
squares is a vast variety of plants of all
countries and climates, to which the oaks
are an excellent defence from the high
winds, as well as a great shelter to people
walking.

At the end of the grand walk are iron
rails, which give view into an inclosure,
in which one sees several extraordinary
beasts and birds; the governor has a very
curious collection, and most of them natives
of the country; amongst the beasts,
are the zebra, or wild ass, elks, tigers,
leopards, wolves, &c.

In one part of the garden, a little detached,
is a pretty good house, called the
garden house: this is always kept ready to
accommodate any of their governors
passing to and from India: English governors,
admirals, commanders in chief,
&c. are complimented with living in it
while they stay.

The Dutch, who value themselves
much upon being good gardeners, shew
that sort of pride no where more than in this E4r 55
this country; which being so situated
between the extremes of heat and cold,
is particularly favourable to vegetation:
and produces almost all the fruits, vegetables,
and plants, common to both
Europe and Asia. The inhabitants themselves
say, that there is not a fruit in the
world but what grows here; however
they are a good deal mistaken, and in this
particular, I think travellers who have
mentioned the Cape, have said rather too
much: Indeed, it is no wonder that any
person coming from sea, particularly after
having been long in India, and finding
the tables covered with such plenty and
variety of agreeable fruits, to which they
were accustomed in both climates, should
be very ready to subscribe to the opinion
of this being the most fruitful country
in the world. They in general do not
stay till the novelty is worn off, or do not
consider the subject. If they did, I think
they would not attribute the plenty so
much to the soil or climate, as to the
steady industry of the Dutch: a well-
known proof that they are the cause of E4 it, E4v 56
it, is, that when this Cape was in possession
of the English, they quitted it, because,
on account of the barrenness of
the country, it was not worth the expence
of keeping.

But let me observe by way of excuse
for my countrymen, that notwithstanding
the present plenty, and although
smiling vineyards, gardens, and plantations
are scattered over many parts of the
land, nothing can appear more bleak and
barren, than those parts of the country
which still remain uncultivated.

In many, English oaks are planted in
great abundance, which although tall,
never grow to be large; as to European
fruits, such as apricots, peaches, strawberries,
&c. although they are exceedingly
plentiful, and very pleasant, they
are never so perfect as in England; and
oranges, and some other fruits peculiar to
warm climates, are very poor.

All which I should account for thus;
that although, between the industry of
the inhabitants, and the uncommon fineness
of the climate, an amazing variety
of trees, plants, fruits, and vegetables,
are produced, the soil itself is too poor
to bring some of them to perfection.

The finest fruit is the grape, which is
extremely large and well flavoured: the
vines grow as in most other wine countries
in fields like corn, without any support;
but on account of the high winds, the
vineyards are defended with oaks in the
manner I have described in the gardens.

The vintage is in autumn, which is
about March and April, when a considerable
quantity of wine is made; the white
they call Cape Madeira, the best red is
a sort of Tent.

The town stands under the shelter of
three steep lofty hills, which extend a
considerable way into the country: these hills E5v 58
hills from their shape, are called the
Table-land, the Sugar-loaf, and the
Lion’s-rump, the first of which before a
gale of wind, is always covered with a
thick cloud, which the people call the
devil’s table-cloth; it is an infallible
sign, that within twelve hours at most,
the wind will blow strong off the land,
the wind lasts perhaps for two or three
days, when it ceases for a day or two, and
then, after the same sign, begins to blow
again: it is almost a continual high
wind; not however so turbulent, but that
that ships ride very safe at anchor nine
months in the year in the Bay; which is
formed by a little island opposite, called
Penguin island.

In the winter months, which are
June, July, and August, any ship which
arrives is obliged to put into another
bay about eight miles to the eastward of
the cape, and called Cape Falso, or False
Bay.

The Dutch are of opinion that the
high winds are a great blessing; for say
they, the climate is hot, and we stand so
very low, that a common breeze could
not reach us, and the place would be
very unhealthy. As it is, they enjoy a
competent share of health, having but
few sickly people amongst them; and yet
what is very extraordinary, their lives in
general do not exceed fifty years, and
vast numbers die between forty and fifty,
so that a very old man or woman is
really a wonder.

The small pox when it happens
amongst them, which is perhaps once in
ten, or seven years, is a most dreadful
calamity; the devastation it makes exceeds
belief; whole families, parents,
children, and slaves are sometimes carried
off by it: it spreads itself all over
the country; and people shut themselves
up from their neighbours, to escape the
pestilence.

The Dutch aver that the climate is
particularly unfavorable to the small
pox: but I cannot attribute the mortality
so much to that cause, as to two
others; first, their utter ignorance in
managing the disorder; and secondly,
the improper state of body they are
always in to receive it; being mostly fat
gross people, occasioned partly by their
diet (for they dress their victuals with a
vast quantity of grease and butter, and
the children live in the same manner)
and partly by their want of exercise,
which they use very little of; for altho’
the Dutch are naturally œconomists and
careful, they are not in this country
active, but the labor is left entirely to
the slaves.

The interior parts of this country,
which by all accounts are fine, are seldom
visited by travellers: but the Dutch
have farms to the distance of many hundred
miles. The people who live at
them travel every year to the Cape with 3 the E7r 61
the produce of their farms, corn, butter,
fruits, &c. &c.; they travel in covered
waggons with eight horses, and
are three or four weeks upon the road.
Notwithstanding these people are unprotected,
and every family very distant
from any of their own country, they
live in peace and safety; without any
interruption from the Hottentots.

At the distance of two or three hundred
miles up the country are natural
hot baths, which the Dutch hold in high
esteem for the cure of almost all disorders;
but it seems they have ever been
fatal to the English who have tried them.
Nothing but real necessity, I think, can
induce any person to undertake a journey
of so much difficulty and fatigue;
the only method of getting there is in
covered waggons, with very few conveniencies
on the road, partly through a
wild country which is infested by tigers,
leopards, &c. &c. and some danger from
slaves escaped from their masters, who have E7v 62
have taken shelter in these wilds, and are
rendered desperate by their unhappy
situation.

Letter XIV.

Cape of Good Hope, 1764-12Dec. 1764.

The Cape is an absolute contrast
to the last we came from; and having
been there, makes us more sensible
of the liberty of doing whatever we
please, and going wherever we have a
mind. The Dutch police is admirable!
œconomy, regularity, and decency, are
the effects of it.

The chief officers are the governor,
deputy, or (as they call it) second governor,
and the fiscall; a very small
number of soldiers, commanded by an
officer who has the rank of lieutenant-
colonel: the governor has been here abun- E8r 63
abundance of years, and has raised by
slow degrees from a private soldier to
his present rank; most of the inhabitants
were born here, and here most of
them will be buried: not having, in general,
either inclination or abilities to
go to Europe: they are most of them
connected, and doubly connected here,
by marriages and intermarriages; they
have houses and land, their gains are
not sufficient to enable them to return to
the mother-country with fortunes; but
certain, and sufficient to enable them
to live with comfort here, where they are
blessed with a moderate government, and
a delightful climate.

I never was in a place where people
seemed to enjoy so much comfort;
few are very rich, none miserably poor;
great riches would be useless, as they have
no means of spending; those who have
just the necessaries of life are therewith
content, because they never expected
more; their ideas and their wants are
few, and there is that happy constitutionaltional E8v 64
dulness in the Dutch, which keeps
them perfectly satisfied without either
business or pleasures to occupy their
minds.

The women are rather more active:
delicacy is not the characteristic of the
Dutch females, but they are decent,
plump, healthy, and chearful.

Constantia, a place visited by all
strangers, is a neat Dutch farm, about
eight miles from the Cape, remarkable
for making very rich wines both red
and white, which are much esteemed
every where, both on account of the
richness and scarcity: The grapes, it
seems, of this vine-yard, owing to something
particular in the soil, are superior
to any other in the country.

Letter XV.

Cape of Good Hope, 1765-02Feb. 1765.

Nothing can be more agreeable to
the people of this place, than
the arrival of an English ship, as it causes
a circulation of money, and indeed it is
chiefly by the English that most people in
the town are supported; not only by taking
the Captains, Passengers, &c. to board
at their houses, but by furnishing the
ships with provision. A great many
French ships likewise stop here, and all
the Dutch passing to and from India;
but for the last they are obliged to provide
according to certain prices, stipulated
by the Dutch company, and as neither
the Dutch or the French spend their money
so freely as the English, of course they
are not so desirable guests.

The custom is to pay a rix-dollar daily
for each person’s board and lodging, for
which they are provided with every thing, F the F1v 66
the tables are plentiful, the houses are clean,
and the people obliging, and what makes
it extremely comfortable, is, that most of
them speak English; French is likewise
spoken by many; so that foreigners find
themselves more at home in this port
than can be imagined.

Letter XVI.

Cape of Good Hope, 1765-02Feb. 1765.

The servants of the Dutch, except
a very few Hottentots, are all
slaves, brought originally from different
parts of the East Indies. What seems
extraordinary is, that they do not learn
to talk Dutch, but the Dutch people
learn their dialect, which is called Portuguese;
and is a corruption of that language,
some of them are called Malays
or Malaynese, brought from the country
of Malacca, and the islands to the eastward
of India, subject to the Dutch company.pany. F2r 67
These slaves differ from the others
in the flatness of their faces, the length
of their eyes, and the distance of the
eyes from each other; they are likewise
less black, but more of a pale yellow.
This cast of people are remarkable for the
violence of their passions, and are to the
utmost degree revengeful; a melancholy
instance of their violence has happened
lately. One of them being offended with
his master, gave himself up to the fury
of his passion, and as the term is, “run
a muck”, a thing which is not unusual.
The first step he took was to intoxicate
himself with opium, then letting his long
hair loose about him, he sallied out with
a knife in his hand, running strait forward,
to stab every man, woman, child,
or animal which he met with. Fortunately,
only one person was killed before he was
taken; but the execution which followed,
was the most cruel that could be invented
by the art of man: a lingering death
upon the rack, with the application of
burning instruments in a manner too
shocking to repeat.

Letter XVII.

Cape of Good Hope, 1765-03March 1765.

I Have purposely deferred giving you
any account of the natives of this
country, the Hottentots, till I could be
assured that the strange accounts I heard
of them were true; my eyes have convinced
me, that some of them are, and
others I have from good authority.

They are by nature tolerably white,
and not unhandsome, but as soon as a
child is born, they rub it all over with oil,
and lay it in the sun, this they repeat till
it becomes brown: and always break the
infant’s nose, so that it lays close to its
face; as they grow up, they continue
constantly to rub themselves with oil or
grease, and by degrees become almost a
jet black; this it seems they do to
strengthen themselves.

Their dress is the skins of beasts quite
undressed, one they tie over their
shoulders, and another round their waste
by way of apron; their wrists, ankles,
and wastes, are ornamented with glass-
beads, bits of tobacco pipes, pieces of
brass, and such kind of trumpery, and
sometimes even the dried entrails of
beasts.

Their only riches is in cattle, and
their employment feeding them; except
the hunting of wild beasts, at which
they are exceedingly expert; the skins
they constantly bring to the town, and
barter, with the Dutch for trumpery
beads, &c. &c. or spirituous liquors, of
which they are excessively fond.

DrukennessDrunkenness and gluttony are the vices
to which they are most addicted; having
no moderation in either eating or drinking,
but whenever it is in their power,
indulge themselves in either to the greatest
excess, devouring as much at a meal, as F3 would F3v 70
would be sufficient for days, seldom
leaving off while there is any thing left
to eat or drink: they then lay down in
their hovels till pinched again by hunger.

They have no superiority amongst
them but the chiefs which are chosen
when they make war, which one nation
or Hottentots often does against another,
though never against the Dutch; but
these chiefs have no distinction in their
manner of living, for they have not the
least idea of the grandeur, or what all other
people esteem the necessaries, of life.

It is a doubtful point whether they
have any notion of a deity, as nothing
like a religious ceremony is ever observed
amongst them: but most of the Dutch
are of opinion that they worship the sun;
a very natural conjecture, for although
they appear hardly a degree above the
brute creation, still one must allow they
have the faculty of thinking, consequently
must attribute the earth, the sky, and
all about them, to some superior power. I The F4r 71
The sun is the most glorious object we
behold, and the most likely to inspire awe
and reverence into those who are not
informed, that it is only one, of the
many wonderful works of the Almighty.

They have no books or letters of any
kind, their language consisting chiefly in
signs, nodding the head, and an undistinct
rattling in the throat.

The custom in regard to their old people
is truly shocking: whenever they
come to such an age as to be unable to
support themselves, their relations convey
them to some distance, and let them starve
to death. In all other respects they are
the most quiet inoffensive people in the
world.

They sometimes become servants to
the Dutch, and behave perfectly well;
their honesty may be depended upon for
any thing but liquor, but they have all,
both men and women, such a strong natural
propensity to intoxication, that it is F4 never F4v 72
never to be conquered: those who are
servants alter their appearance, and dress
like slaves, but sometimes return among
their own people, and to their own
manners.

Letter XVIII.

Pondicherry, 1765-06June 1765.

The ship we came in stopped at
Nagapatam, a Dutch settlement
on the coast of Coromandel; this first
specimen I had of India rather surprised
than please me; I could not be reconciled
to the vast numbers of black people
who flocked to the shore on my first arrival;
although I must acknowledge,
that they were so far from being terrible
in their appearance, that at first sight I
believed them all to be women, from the
effeminacy both of their persons and
dress, the long white jemmers and turbandsbands F5r 73
appear so truly feminine to strangers.
But the almost stark-nakedness
of the lowest class is still more disgusting.

On our arrival, we found the place
in the greatest confusion, on account
of the elopement of the Governor, who
had just made his escape on board an
English vessel, in which he went to Madrass,
and put himself under the protection
of the English Governor there: he
was scarcely missed, when another Governor
arrived from Batavia, with full
powers to send his predecessor there under
guard. On finding he had left the place,
the Dutch had the barbarity to treat his
lady in the most unkind manner, seized
the furniture of her house, and put herself
and children in prison under strict
confinement.

Various were the opinions relative to
the merit or demerit of the late Governor,
but I shall not trouble you with such uninteresting
particulars, further than to observe,
that from this conversation I have learned F5v 74
learned, that his fate is not an uncommon
one: and likewise, that the policy of the
Dutch company is as follows: whenever
a Governor has acquired a great fortune,
they call him to account for the manner
in which it has been raised; and it has
always been in their power to find some
heavy charge against their Governors
which merited punishment; but the rigiddess
of justice has always been softened,
by a forfeiture of half, or two thirds of
the fortune. Judge then, how much these
lovers of justice must be mortified! that
a delinquent should escape their hands
unpunished.

The Dutch governments in India are
not as the English, independent of each
other; but subject to the General of Baravia,
to whom they are accountable; he
is perhaps the greatest and most powerful
subject in the world.

I am now writing from Pondicherry:
the ruinous [Gap in transcription—flawed-reproduction1 word]e of this once fine place,
fills my mind with a sort of pleasing melancholy;lancholy; F6r 75
one feels a kind of reverence
and pity for ruined grandeur, even in
things inanimate: a small part of the palace
remains standing, but not more than
two houses in the whole town, and those,
as well as the noble fortifications, in a
shattered condition.

I cannot help figuring to myself the
situation of its inhabitants during the
siege, their property destroyed, their
houses laid waste, widows bewailing the
loss of their husbands, and mothers of
their children!

But they had this consolation, that
when conquered, they fell into the hands
of a merciful enemy; the English, ever
merciful as brave, never shewed it more
than on this occasion. Private property
was as much as possible secured, the
French families were received as Madrass,
and treated with the greatest kindness.

They enjoyed likewise another privilege,
which they received from heaven;
I mean the constitutional gayété de caur
peculiar to the French nation, by which
they soon forgot their losses and their
griefs, and the sound of a fiddle as
usual summoned them to the sprightly
dance.

Letter XIX.

Madrass, or Fort St. George, 1765-06June 1765.

You will congratulate me on being
at last arrived in India, and in
an English settlement; but it is only for
a few days, I shall then return again to the
stormy ocean: in the mean while I could
not omit giving you some little, though
imperfect account it must be, of this town;
which it would be unpardonable to pass
over without saying something in praise
of, as it is without exception the prettiest place F7r 77
place I ever saw. Madrass is built entirely
by the English; it is strongly fortified;
and the walls and works, as well
as the barracks for the army, the storehouses,
and every other public building,
are so calculated as to be both convenient,
and an addition to the beauty of the place.

The town is laid out in streets and
squares; the houses neat and pretty,
many of them large; in all the good
houses the apartments are up stairs, and
all on one floor; the rooms are large
and very lofty; most of the houses are
built with a varendar, which is a terrace
on a level with the rooms in the front,
and sometimes in the back part of the
house, supported by pillars below, and a
roof above supported likewise by pillars,
with rails round to lean on. The varendars
give a handsome appearance to the
houses on the out-side, and are of great use,
keeping out the sun by day, and in the
evenings are cool and pleasant to sit in. But
what gives the greatest elegance to the
houses is a material peculiar to the place; it F7v 78
it is a cement or plaster call’d channam,
made of the shells of a very large species
of oysters found on this coast; these shells
when burnt, pounded, and mixed with
water, form the strongest cement imaginable:
if it is to be used as plaster,
they mix it with whites of eggs, milk,
and some other ingredients; when dry,
it is as hard, and very near as beautiful,
as marble; the rooms, stair-cases, &c.
are covered with it.

A short distance from the town is a
small elegant house and garden, where
the Nabób of Arcót sometimes resides;
the heat of the climate admits of an
open airy stile of building, which is
pleasing to the eye; a roof supported
with pillars is more elegant than a wall
with windows and doors; besides, the
rooms being unincumbered with chimnies,
makes it more easy to lay them out
in uniformity: the cook rooms are always
at some distance, and they have no servants
apartments.

A little without the walls of Madrass
is the black town, where are shops of
all sorts, and where all the menial servants
belonging to the English reside;
for they are such strict observers of their
religion, the tenets of which I shall
hereafter be better able to inform you
of, that they will neither eat nor drink,
and are even unwilling to sleep, in their
masters houses: and if it happens that
they are obliged to remain the whole
twenty-four hours, or more, without
going home, they fast rather than eat or
drink with any but those of their own cast.

The English boast much of a delightful
mount about ten miles distant, where
the Governor and other have garden
homes, which they say are both cool and
elegant. But let not what I have said
lead you to suppose, that any thing here
is equal to the noble edifices in England;
I only mean, that there is a neatness,
and a uniform simplicity throughout
the whole of this town, which cannot
fail of being universally pleasing.

The mode of living, from the religion
of their servants, the heat of the
climate, and other circumstances, is so
extraordinary, that I can scarcely believe
myself amongst English people: I am
not at present qualified to give you a
particular account of it: therefore, I
shall only say that they are expensive in
horses, carriages, palengneens, and numbers
of servants; are fond of entertainments,
dress, and pleasure; sociable with
each other, hospitable and civil to strangers.

The heat here is excessive, but the climate
for India is esteemed healthy, and
people frequently come here for the recovery
of their health from Bengal; for the
soil is dry, and the benefit of the sea breeze,
which constantly blows from between
twelve and one at noon till the same
time at night, is a great advantage: as
soon as the wind comes from the sea the
whole air is changed, and though hot,
less so than before. The other twelve
hours it blows off the land.

The night air is so dry, that people
frequently sleep without any cover, on
the tops of their houses, which are flat
roofed, and find no inconvenience
from it.

I am detained here by the tremendous
surf, which for these two days has
been mountains high: and it is extraordinary,
that on this coast, even with
very little wind, the surf is often so
high that no boat dares venture through
it: indeed it is always high enough to be
frightful.

Till I have the pleasure to address you
from Bengal,

Letter XX.

Calcutta, 1765-08August 1765.

At length I have the satisfaction to
inform you of our arrival at Calcutta.
The voyage from Madras, short
as it is, is a dangerous one; for the entrance
to the mouth of the Ganges is a
very difficult piece of navigation, on
account of the many islands, cut out by
the numberless branches of the river;
many of which branches are really great
rivers themselves, and after sweeping
through and fertilizing the different parts
of several provinces, there disembogue
themselves, with great force, and the
roaring noise of many waters.

Besides there are a number of sand
banks, which, from the prodigious force
of the waters, change their situation.
Therefore it is necessary to have a pilot
well skilled in the different channels; but G2r 83
but as such are not always to be had,
many ships are thereby endangered, and
sometimes lost.

Letter XXI.

Calcutta, 1766-04August 1765.

Last night, or rather early this
morning, we had for the first time
since my arrival, what is called a Northwester,
which are very frequent in the hot
season; a Northwester is a violent storm
of wind from that quarter, attended with
thunder, lightning, and rain: the loudness
of the thunder, the terrible flashes
of lightning, the roaring of the wind,
which carries all before it, and the deluge
of rain, are altogether tremendous:
it appeared as if every crack of thunder
must tear the roof of the house I was in
from end to end.

The tempest being spent, was succeeded
by the azure morn, and the radiant
sun; which, tempered by the coolness
of the earth, formed some hours of the
most delightful climate that can be imagined,
but was too soon followed by excessive
heat, for after every Northwester the
heat sensibly increases till the rains commence.
Every one now begins to look
forward to that season, wishing it was
come.

The baneful influence of the sun is
a melancholy reflection; the number of
sudden deaths amongst the English, and
the caution they are obliged to use to
preserve life, makes this season very uncomfortable;
and when it happens, as it
sometimes does, that the rains are late
before they set in, the mortality exceeds
belief.

The illness of which most people die,
is what is called here, a Pucker fever, which G3r 85
which frequently carries a person off in
a few hours; the physicians esteem it the
highest degree of putridity. But some
have more lingering illness, such as bile
in the stomach, which indeed is a disorder
very few are entirely exempt from
in these cases: the intense heat relaxes
the coats of the stomach so as to prevent
digestion, which occasions much illness,
and oft-times death.

It is frequently said, though very unjustly,
that this climate never kills the
English ladies; and, indeed, it must be
allowed, that women do not so often die
of violent fevers as men, which is no
wonder, as we live more temperately,
and expose ourselves less in the heat of
the day; and perhaps, the tenderness of
our constitutions sometimes prevents the
violence of the disorder, and occasions a
lingering, instead of a sudden, death.
But most English women labor under the
oppression of weak nerves, slow fevers,
and bile: the disorders I have mentioned,
and the continual perspiration, soon destroysG3 stroys G3v 86
the roses on the cheeks of the
young and beautiful, and gives them a
pale yellow complexion.

I sat down to give you an account of
the weather and climate, which insensibly
led me to the consequences of it:
every thing but cold is in extremes here,
the heat is intense, the rains floods, the
winds hurricanes, and the hailstones I
dare not tell you how large, lest you
should think I take the licence of a traveller.
But what I always behold with
reverence and awe, and at the same time
with pleasure, is the lightning; not an
evening passes without it; it is not that
offensive glare of light I have been used
to see, but a beautiful fire, which plays
amongst the clouds, and passes from one
part of the heavens to another, in every
direction, and in every variety of vibration.

Letter XXII.

Motte Jill, 1766-09September 1766.

As the rains were not quite over when
we set out from Calcutta on the
1766-09-01first of September, our progress up the
river was exceedingly slow; we were a
fortnight getting to Cossumbuzar, where
we spent a few days: at Cossumbuzar is
an English factory, where a vast quantity
of raw silk is prepared, a great variety
of piece silk and handkerchiefs are
made, besides stockings, gloves, and
other articles; the stockings, gloves,
&c. are all knit by men.

The company’s servants are fond of
being appointed to these out settlements,
because it is more advantageous
than the appoinrmentsappointments at Calcutta;
otherwise perhaps not so agreeable, as
there are sometimes but three or four
English amidst a number of black people.
G4 Just G4v 88
Just above Cassambuzar is MottèOpen note 1Back to note ¹
Gill,Open note 2Back to note ², or the lake of Pearl, one of the
prettiest of the Mahomedan palaces, and
is now the habitation of the English resident
at the Durbar: the spot has its name
from a lake of clear water, which surrounds
it on every side, except one small
entrance; it was made by a former
Nabób of Muxadabád. In case of war,
this was a place of security for his wives
and children to retire to.

The buildings are in the stile of the
country, along the middle of the ground
at certain distances, are different sets of
apartments, most of the rooms are small
and dark; but what I most disapprove of,
is the useless expence they have been
at for walls, for from every set of
apartments, are extended two long heavy
walls, which reach on each side to the
water’s edge; this is the taste in most of
their palaces; the walls do not answer
the purpose of our garden walls in Englandland G5r 89
(for they plant no fruit trees against
them) not any other purpose that I can
conceive, but to divide the gardens into
smaller parts, and by that means lessen
the beauty, and increase the heat.

The most pleasing amongst their buildings
are those in the open stile, apartments
which are not surrounded with a
wall, but the roofs supported with double
and triple rows of light pillars,
which have a very elegant effect.

We may easily suppose, that the Nabób
who expended such great sums of money
to build, to plant, and to dig that immense
lake, little foresaw that it should
ever become a place of residence for an
English Chief, to be embellished and altered
according to his taste, to be defiled
by Christians, or contaminated by swine’s
flesh.

Much less could he foresee that his
successors on the Musnud should be
obliged to court these Chiefs, that they should G5v 90
should hold the Subahship only as a gift
from the English, and be by them maintained
in all the pageantry, without any
of the power of royalty.

Immediately above Motté Gill is
Muxadabád,Open note 3Back to note ³ the present capital of the
three provinces, a vile dirty place: the
palaces of the Nabób, and houses of the
great people, are built of stone, with more
expence than taste: those of the common
herd, of straw and bamboo, so low that
it is difficult to stand upright in them. In
this city reside some of the richest merchants
in the world.

Letter XXIII.

Mongheir, 1766-10Oct. 1766.

Proceeding up the river, we arrived at
Mongheir, which is a very large
fort, and many good buildings in it in the G6r 91
the Indian stile, but the fortifications
are a good deal fallen to decay; and as
it now serves as quarters for a part
of the English army, it undergoes daily
alterations.

The country about it is remarkably fertile,
beautiful, and healthy. About two
miles distant is a house on the top of a
very high hill, which commands a vast
extent of country, with every thing that
can form a romantic and delightful prospect.
On one side, the Ganges, with
the near and distant rocks; on the other,
the fort, numberless hills and valleys,
with woods, villages, corn-fields, and
gardens; single houses and mosques scattered
here and there; elephants, buffalos,
camels, and all kinds of cattle, which,
with the people, form a moving landscape
of great variety, in miniature.

This is a delightful retreat for the commanding
officer of the troops; if a breath
of air blows from the heavens, one must
feel it here.

Letter XXIV.

Patna, 1766-11November, 1766.

We found it extremely tedious, and
were almost a month from Cassambuzar
to Monghier, and to Patna ten
days.

The method of travelling by water is
so singular, that I must give you some
account of it.

Just before the rains set in, which is
about the middle of July, the waters of
the Ganges begin to increase, occasioned
by the snow on the tops of the hills
from whence the river issues (near thirteen
hundred miles from the sea) being
melted by the sun; as soon as the rains
commence it hourly increases, pouring
with the most impetuous velocity, and
the river has the appearance of a sea.
And in some parts, where there happen
to be rocks, or very high hills on each side G7r 93
side pretty near the river, the water being
there pent up, it rises to a prodigious
height; and the current is so strong and
rapid that it is hardly possible for any
boat to stem it.

After about two months, when the
violence of the rain beings to subside,
the water falls almost as suddenly as it
arose; and that which was of late one
entire sheet of water, except perhaps
some tops of trees, now appears to be
a fertile country, covered with woods,
corn-fields, and other plantations; and the
different arms which the river branches
into, form many little islands, which in
the rainy season one has no idea of.

Some of those little islands produce
three and four crops yearly; rice, which
grows only when it is covered with water;
after that, corn; then water-melons,
&c.

The progress up the Ganges is so exceedingly
slow, that the voyage from Calcutta G7v 94
Calcutta to Allahabád takes near three
months to perform it in; at the same
time that it is common to go from Allahabád
to Calcutta in twenty days. When
a boat comes down the river it takes
the middle of the rapid stream, which
carries it down without the help of oars
or sail; but it is extremely dangerous,
on account of the many turnings, which
require a dextrous management; and
likewise from the many smaller arms,
which discharge themselves into the great
river, and cause such an eddy from
the meeting of two or three currents,
that the largest budgeroo cannot stand it,
but is whirled round and round like a
millsail, and sometimes overset; by
which misfortune many European lives
have been lost; as to the black people,
they generally swim so well as to escape
to the shore.

A budgeroo is not much unlike a city
barge; the covered part generally divided
into two pretty good rooms, and an open varander, G8r 95
varander, carrying from ten to twenty
oars, and as many men, called dandys; the
master, who steers, is called a sarang.

These fellows are very dextrous in
their way, andand seem to have the property
of fishes; at least I must look upon
them as amphibious animals, for the water
appears to be as much their element
as the land: in the passage up the river
they mostly tow; but when they come
to a creek, of which there are many
very broad, they fasten the rope round
their wastes, and, throwing themselves
from the land, which is often very high,
swim across, dragging the badgeroo after
them.

When the squalls of wind and rain come
on, if they can find no place to lay by,
they jump into the river, and hang with
their hands upon the edge of the boat,
to keep it steady, with just their mouths
above the water; in this manner they
continue till the squall is over. The work G8v 96
work of towing, or, as it is called, tracking,
is sometimes exceedingly laborious;
for the banks, which, when the river is
lowered, are the height of a house at
least above the water, are so softened
by the rains, that the dandies sink midleg
at every step they take; frequently
large pieces of the banks give way, and
by their fall boats are sunk or overset.

Sometimes they row; then it is they
seem to enjoy themselves, singing all
together, with great vehemence, some
songs peculiar to their employment.

A family has frequently two budgeroos
besides boats; one of the boats is for
cookery, the others for servants, provisions,
furniture, and other necessaries;
for whenever people remove from one
place to another, they are obliged to
carry all these things with them, even
palenqueens, carriages, and horses, so
that the troop of attendants of every kind
amounts to a great number of people.

When one chooses to dine, &c. the
budgeroo is stopped, and the boats which
are wanted come round it, and the dinner is
served with much order as on shore;
it is surprising how they can cook half a
dozen or more dishes, in a boat only
defended from the air by a tilt made of
mats.

Except in the squalls, which are frequent
in the rainy season, it is a most easy method
of travelling, and, when a party of
budgeroos go together, very agreeable.

When the budgeroos stop at night, the
dandies make their fires on the shore, each
cast by themselves, and boil their rice,
which is all they live upon.

Letter XXV.

Patna, 1766-11Nov. 1766.

Travelling by land is very inconvenient,
and on account of the number
of attendants very expensive; for as
there are no carriage roads, the only method
is in palenqueens.

Therefore it is necessary, before any
person sets out on a journey, to have relief
of bearers laid at certain distances;
which is done by giving notice to an officer
for that purpose, who sends orders
to all the fouzdars, which are governors
of districts, and are answerable for the
behaviour of the people they provide.

There are no inns upon the road, or
other convenient places to stop at; therefore
it is necessary to have two sets of
tents, that the one set may be advancing
for the reception of the travellers, while 2 they H2r 99
they repose themselves in the others. As
the journies by land are mostly made in
the hot season when the rivers are dry,
they generally travel by night, and lay by
in the heat of the day.

Letter XXVI.

Bockapoor, 1767-03March 1767.

Bockapoor is a pleasant village on the
banks of the Ganges, about three
miles above Patna; in it at present are
cantonments for about a third of part of the
English army: these temporary cantonments
are small houses called bungaloes,
made of straw and bamboo. About four
miles farther up the river, at a place
called Dinapoor, the company is carrying
on a considerable building, which is to
contain barracks and accommodations
for the troops, and to be the head quarters
in this province.

Patna, the capital of the province of
Babar, is a very large fortified town,
built close on the banks of the Ganges,
the town and suburbs not less than five
miles in length; but the breadth is in no
proportion, being in some parts not more
than a single street; for in this climate
every one is desirous of being near the
river. There is a fort and many large
stone buildings in the Indian stile; but
the greatest part of the town is composed
of straw huts, which make a miserable
appearance. The streets are mostly extremely
narrow, and as none of them are
paved, the town is intolerably dirty in
the rainy season, and dusty in the dry.

Patna is a place of very great traffic.
The English company have one of their
most considerable factories there, where
they carry on a great trade in salt-petre,
besides opium, salt, bettlenut, and tobacco,
which are the chief branches of commerce
in this part of the country.

The French and Dutch have likewise
factories there.

Carpets are manufactured in the place,
and a coarse sort of painted callicos, figured
table-linen, and some very ordinary
wrought muslins. Patna is famous
for hookersOpen note 4Back to note ⁴ which are said to be made
better here than in any part of India, particularly
the part called the chillim, or
the cover for the fire; some of them are
copper inlaid with silver, of most curious
workmanship. They have various other
trades, for such manufactories as are
useful in the country.