not the slightest doubt, but every one of them was a member of the same family. It was not only that those persons who were entitled to have this patronage exercised in their favour did not obtain it, but by the present system on which it was dispensed, the relations of the twenty-four Directors were scattered over the whole face of India, which most materially interfered with the due exercise of authority there. It was 'to enable those twelve persons, with this much larger amount of patronage, to be distributed among those who deserved it, that he, among other reasons, proposed the reduction of the • number of the Court of Directors."

Now, it appears to us, in the first place, that if Lord Chancellor Bacon had taken his old seat on the wool-sack for that night only, he would have been scandalized in the extreme by Lord Ellenborough's misapplication of his suggestive metaphor. It was Bacon's intention to show how charity too widely diffused loses its efficacy. That it is better really to serve a few, than to make a show of serving many. That having only a limited amount of time and money to bestow upon those who claim our charity, we shall act wisely by not frittering it away in infinitesimal doses, the benefit of which is scarcely perceptible by one of the recipients. But this argument against the diffusiveness of charity, Lord Ellenborough bungles into an argument in its favor. He says, that he would fain see only twelve Directors; because if there were only this number to serve themselves, there would be a larger surplus of patronage for the public. Lord Ellenborough, we doubt not, recollects the heroic act recorded by Statius in that noble heroic line

Excussit galeam, suffecitque omnibus unda.

The warrior to whom, in the heat and turmoil of battle, a helmet full of water is brought, touched by the imploring looks of the wounded men by whom he is surrounded, strikes the helmet with his hand, and the water suffices for all. The action was a noble one; so is the line. But we very much doubt the fact. We rather incline to the opinion that the helmetful of water, unless endowed with some supernatural properties, was more likely to have been thrown away upon the many, than to have sufficed for them all. Such a sprinkling would hardly have satisfied them. But still in the words of the poet, Lord Ellenborough might have found a better illustration than in the words of the philosopher. The "hardly waters the ground" is very different from the "suffecit omnibus unda ;" and it is more true. St. Martin divided his cloak with the beggar; but if he had cut it into too many pieces, he would have stripped

himself, and covered no one with the fragments. It was in this sense that Bacon employed the illustration of the pool. Lord Ellenborough may employ the same illustration-he may show that twelve pools are more easily filled than twenty-four, and that therefore when there are only twelve pools, they begin to over-run sooner, and to diffuse their waters over the general level of the country. The illustration may be a good one, or it may be a bad one; but it was in a precisely opposite sense that Lord Bacon applied to the matter that was under his consideration.

There would appear, however, to be something inconsistent with itself in Lord Ellenborough's proposition. For whilst it is based upon the assumption that the Directors are not fit to be entrusted with the patronage at present in their hands, it proposes to double it for them. They abuse what they have already got, and so they are to have more. It is his belief that under such a system, a larger share of the general stock of patronage would be diffused among the general body of claimants, or rather among those, who are not immediately connected with the Directors themselves. But there are those, who, whilst entertaining a high opinion of the character of the Directorial body, think that there would be something dangerous in the concentration of so large an amount of patronage in so few hands. Each individual Director would, under such a system, be less able than at present, to acquaint himself with the circumstances of the different applications made to him; there would be greater fear of indirect influences being brought to bear upon him; and, above all, such influence as may be exercised, upon men so situated, by the Government of the day. There is safety in numbers. Four and twenty men may preserve their independence, when it is probable that twelve might

not. We do not know anything more likely to lower the character, and diminish the power of the Court of Directors, than the reduction of their numbers. In the mere matter of patronage, it is by no means clear, to borrow Lord Ellenborough's metaphor, that a larger quantity would flow over the sides of the pool to fertilize the general country. There would only, supposing them to exist at all, be deeper and wider pools. If a man is inclined to keep his patronage for the exclusive use of his relatives and friends, he is sure to find relatives and friends enough to absorb it. Instead of fourteen members of the same name in the services, Lord Ellenborough might, under his proposed system, find twenty-eight. As we have already shown, the Direction now mainly consists of retired members of the two services-at all events, of men, who have spent a

great part of their lives in close connexion with the country, which it is now their proud lot to govern. They bestow a large portion of their patronage upon the children of friends; but those friends are, precisely, the men, whom Lord Ellenborough would wish to see so rewarded. In one sense, they may be in the pool; in another sense, they are out of it. If the Directors were, for the most part, as once they were, London bankers and merchants, there might be a fear of the "services," whose cause Lord Ellenborough advocates, being neglected by their masters; but there is no fear of it now. The probability is, too, that if the number of Directors were reduced, as seats in the Direction would be more valuable, elections fewer, and therefore proprietors' votes more valuable, a larger proportion of the India House patronage would find its way into the hands of the electors. Whether there it be in the pool or out of the pool, we leave it to Lord Ellenborough to determine.

Little more remains to be said. We have no great faith in the perfection of any human institutions, and we do not maintain that the system under which the patronage of the East India Company is administered is a perfect one. But we believe in the human wisdom of "letting well alone;" and we have not yet been challenged to consider any scheme which we believe to be really calculated to improve it. At least, it may be said of it, that it has worked well. No one has ever objected anything against the 'style' of young men, who are sent out to administer the civil affairs of India, and to officer its armies. Finer young men are nowhere to be seen than those who flit across the Egyptian desert overland' to India, or saunter about the quarter-decks of our first class passenger-ships. It is not pretended that any change in the mode of administering the patronage of the India House would improve, either the physique or the morale of the Indian services. If then, in addition to this, the patronage is so distributed, as to confer large benefits upon all classes of English society, whilst it especially benefits that class which has the best claim to profit by the distribution, it appears to us that, both as regards India and England, the great end has been attained, and that we may safely leave in the hands of the Directors for another term of twenty years, the PATRONAGE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.

ART. II.-1. A view of the History, Literature, and Mythology of the Hindus. By W. Ward. Serampore, 1818.

2. Raghu Nandan's Institutes of the Hindu religion. Sanskrit MS.

3. Nutan Panjiká, a new Almanac. Serampore, 1852.

In a foregoing number of this periodical, we attempted, very briefly, to give an account of some of the games and amusements of the Bengalis; we purpose in this article to describe some of their leading festivals and holidays. The festivals of the Bengalis, like those of every other people, are partly religious and partly social, though the former exceed the latter in their number and variety. Instead of treating of them separately, we shall take them up in the order of their occurrence, beginning with the month of Baisákh, or the end of April and beginning of May, which, as is well known, commences the Bengali year.

It is not a little singular, that the first day of Baisakh, or the Bengali new year's day, is not celebrated by public rejoicings. The commemoration of the nativity of a new year, by religious solemnities and social merry-makings, is so natural, that it is observed by almost every nation. By the greater part of the people of Bengal, however, the commencement of a new year is hardly noticed. It is a day remembered only by tradesmen and shop-keepers, who, on that occasion, close their yearly accounts, exchange their old journals and ledgers for new ones, and paint on their door-posts the images of the god Ganeshaa custom not unlike that of the ancient Romans. New year's day gifts, so common in Europe, are here utterly unknown. But in place of making presents on new year's day, a custom prevails, which illustrates several points in the character of the people. If the Bengali is too tenacious of his money to part with it, he may be persuaded to deposit it, for a certainperiod, in the hands of tradesmen. Hence it is customary to deposit a few rupees on new year's day in the safe-keeping of tradesmen, who return them after a short time, and who are eager for the deposits, as it is thought very auspicious to fill their books with monetary accounts at the commencement of the year.

Though the day which ushers in the year is not celebrated, yet the commencing month itself is regarded as peculiarly holy it is, pre-eminently, the month of good works and religious duties. Whatever may be said of the unreasonableness of the ancient Hindu legislators and sages, in prescribing many un

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meaning ceremonies, it must be confessed, that some of their religious injunctions were based on rational grounds, and that some of their institutions were established with a view to general utility and the public good. The month of Baisákh is, perhaps, the hottest month on the plains of Bengal. The atmosphere, exposed to the direct rays of a vertical sun, becomes surcharged with fiery exhalations; the chafed soil, as if heated by a universal furnace, burns the bare foot; the reservoirs of water are, in general, dried up; and man and beast pant for breath. In this season of drought and extreme heat, it is wisely ordained by the Hindu law-givers, that men, beasts and plants should be religiously provided with ample supplies of water. In this month may be seen, by the doors of the houses of respectable Hindus, a number of jars of water, for slaking the thirst of cows, and vessels containing the same element, put up in high places, for the use of the feathered race; while an inclined wooden frame, through which sola grain, treacle and water are constantly being poured, is set up for the refreshment of the weary traveller. In this month, the wide-spreading Ashwat tree, and the humble Tulsi plant, may be seen to have their roots refreshed by water-pots hung over them. In this month, the very gods are fed more daintily than usual, inasmuch as an extra allowance of all sorts of fruits and delicacies is given to their images in the cool of the evening. In this month, pots of Gangá water are suspended over the heads of Shiva and the Shálgrams, to preserve them from the influences of intense heat. In this month, presents of cocoa-nuts, betel-nuts, plantains, the sacred thread, bathing-towels, and last, not least, money, are made in abundant profusion to brahmans. In this month, too, are all sorts of religious vows observed, by mothers for the benefit of their children, by husbands for the benefit of their wives, and by wives for the benefit of their husbands. Two festivals are held in this month, the worship of the river Bhagirathi, and the bathing of Vishnu, which are too insignificant to merit description. In addition to these, however, is celebrated, in this month, a third festival, which deserves notice on account of its singularity. We allude to the worship of the dhenki. What is a dhenki? our readers will naturally ask. The dhenki, or pedal, is a beam balanced on a pivot, placed horizontally, with a piece of wood attached vertically to one extremity, which serves the purpose of a mallet. The object of this simple machine is to separate rice from its husk, which is put in a hole, into which the head of the engine falls. The force by which the dhenki is moved, is neither that of steam nor electricity, but the foot of a woman, which is ever and anon applied