lemnly pronounced a long prayer, at certain periods of which all the people joined in a general response. They prayed against temptation; for grace to do good; for the general welfare of mankind; for a particular blessing on the Seeks; and for the preservation of those who, at that time, were on their travels. This prayer was followed by a short blessing from the old man, and an invitation to the assembly to partake of a friendly feast.

"The book was now closed, and restored to its place at the altar; and, the people being seated as before, two men entered with a large iron cauldron, just taken from the fire, and placed it in the centre of the hall upon a low stool. These were followed by others with five or six dishes, and a large pile of leaves, sewed together with fibres, in the form of plates. One of these plates was given to each of the company without distinction; and the dishes being filled from the cauldron, their contents were served out till every one had got his share. Myself was not forgotten; and, as I was resolved not to give the smallest occasion for offence, I ate up my portion. It was a kind of sweet-meat, of the con- . sistence of soft brown sugar, composed of flour and sugar mixed up, with clarified butter called

ghee. We were next served with a few sugarplums; and here ended the feast and the cere monies of the day."

ARTS, MANUFACTURES, &c.

THE fine silks, calicoes, muslins, and other: manufactures of various kinds, imported from the East-Indies, are a sufficient proof that the natives; are a very ingenious people. It is said they will imitate a pattern, or copy a picture, at first sight,. so that it will be hard to distinguish the copy from the original. On the Coromandel coast they paint their chints and calicoes with a pencil, but those of the more northern parts of India are printed; the colours however are very lasting, and not to be fetched out by washing. For inlaying in ivory no people exceed them; nor can they be equalled for cabinets, scrutoires, and other curious wood-works very finely lacquered. They are also remarkable for making. canes with beautiful cases of tortoise-shell, and abundance of other pretty toys.

The fineness of the Indian muslins is particu larly remarkable, and, if a piece be torn, the natives have a method of joining it so nicely, that the place where it was rent cannot be discerned. The Cambodians are very expert in making white or painted dimities, and they have excellent carpets, besides a sort for the common people, which they call Bancales, not unlike the plaids worn by the Highlanders of Scotland. They likewise weave and work with the needle rich hangings, coverings for the low chairs used by women of quality, and for their palanquins or litters, some of which are adorned with ivory and tortoise-shell, as are also their chess-boards, and other playing-tables. They also make beads, little idols,

bracelets, necklaces and other toys, of a very transparent crystal which is found in their, mountains.

Among their meaner trades, their barbers perform their work with great ease and dexterity. They have all one uniform set of materials, a round glass with a handle, which they stiek in their girdles like a dagger, and put in the hands of a customer while he is shaving; a small copper tumbler, no bigger than a tea-cup; and some instruments for picking the ears, and pairing the nails, either put in a case, or hung on a wire. The Eastern nations, in general, must be allowed to be extremely studious in the cleanliness of their persons, which they imagine conduces to the pleasure of the mind.

The Indian goldsmiths, notwithstanding the indifference of their tools, will imitate a piece of European work with tolerable exactness, but. their common smiths are very indifferent workmen. They neither make clocks, watches, nor gunlocks, nor any iron or steel work that requires springs; but they manufacture swords, poinards, scymetars, and other weapons. The want of clocks is supplied in great towns by a vessel of water, which runs out by a small hole in the bottom into another vessel; and, when it is out, a watchman appointed for that purpose gives notice of the time of day by striking upon. a bell or concave piece of metal. The inhabitants of Cambaya. are famous for their manufacture of cups, spoons, hasps for knives, &c. which they make of agate that is found in some of their rivers. They also make fine quilts, and are universally celebrated for their skill in embroidery.

In some parts of India, they have very good. ship-carpenters, who build after the English mo

del. They chiefly use a firm lasting timber called teak, and, the planks being rabbeted and let into one another, the seams are made very tight with oakum and a kind of pitch called dammer, brought from the Maldive islands. The cocoa-tree furnishes them with cables and cordage *, their saile are generally of cotton, and their anchors and guns they receive from Europe. They have a kind of flat-bottomed vessels called mussoulahs, whose sides are five or six feet high, and the planks very thin, being sewed together with ropes, so that they will yield like pasteboard, and are in no danger of splitting, when they strike upon the shore. These boats are rowed by six or eight men, and carry large quantities of goods. They have also a vessel called a catamaran, in which they carry anchors, guns, and other heavy articles. These consist of only three or four pieces of timber tied together, and are mostly used by fishermen, being unfit to carry goods that are damageable by water, every little sea beating over them; and for the same reason passengers seldom go in them, though they are as safe as any other vessel; and some people have sailed in one of them along the coast for a hundred miles together.

The Indian navigators have but little skill, but they are able to conduct ships in the fair season, when they seldom meet with storms. Their common sailors are rather better in their class, though they are destitute of the vigour, expert-: es, and patience of fatigue, by which Europeans ticularly distinguished.

ropes are made of a certain woolly substance, ing on the inward surface of the cocoa-nut.

Mr. Grose observes, that, though the Banians, who are professed merchants, have been represented by some authors, as a tricking artful set of people, difficult to deal with, this is so far from being true, that they are, in general, the fairest dealers in the world; and that those of Surat, especially, are famous for the simplicity and frankness of their transactions. As an instance of this, on a ship's arrival, laden with goods, nothing more is necessary, than for the 'commander, or supercargo, to bring his samples on shore, together with his invoice; and these merchants resorting to him, will, if the assortment suit them, immediately strike a bargain for the whole cargo, with no other trouble than settling the per centage, upon the items of the invoice. "In this manner," says our author, "many a cargo, from five to thirty thousand pounds and upwards, have been sold in half an hour's time, with very few words; and the amount immediately paid, either in specie or by barter, according as the buyer and seiler have agreed, with at least as much probity as is ever practised by Europeans of the most established reputation. Indeed, these Banians have an advantage over our merchants, but it is such a one as we cannot reasonably complain of; this is a surprising coolness and serenity with which they conduct all their affairs. If a trader offer them a great deal less than their goods are worth, or flies out into a passion at their undervaluing his, they will not show the least indecent heat of temper, but suffer him to exhaust his resentment, without interruption, and then calmly return to the same point. In this instance, they have the same advantage over the Europeans, as a cool gamester has over one in a passion.