parliament which was paffed, in 1708, for improving the union of the two kingdoms, that put an end to torture, by enacting, among other favourable regulations, that no perfon accused of any crime in Scotland fhall be liable to torture.

Defcription of the Great Pagoda of Madura, and the Choultry of Trimul Naik, by Mr. Blackader. From the fame.

D

URING my refidence in India, I was ftationed for feveral years at Madura, on the Coromandel coaft, about three hundred miles from fort St. George, and about feventy miles from the fea.

In this diftrict there are fituated fome of the most magnificent buildings now to be met with in India, whether we confider their immenfe fize, or the richness of the workmanfhip; and thefe edifices are rendered objects of great curiofity to the European obferver, by the fingularity of their architecture, which is different from any thing to be feen in other countries. I was much ftruck with thefe remarkable monuments of the Hindoo tafte and grandeur. What added to my aftohithment was the incredible labour which must have attended their erection, from the ignorance of the natives in the application of the mechanical powers; fo that I became particularly folicitous to have it in my power to convey fome idea of them to those who make antiquities more particularly their ftudy.

The religion of the Hindoos confifts of the worship of only one deity, but the names by which he is known in different districts are very nu

This

be confi

merous, as are also the various forms under which he is reprefented. In honour of this deity an edifice or temple is erected; in the centre is placed his image, before which the religious ceremonies of the priests are performed. The building is in general small, and fituated in an area or open space, enclosed by one or more walls of a fufficient height almoft wholly to conceal it. Befides the temple, there is a very large and high building which makes a part of the wall, being half enclosed by it, through which is the entrance into the area. may dered as a steeple, not being intended for any other purpose than that of attracting the public attention, having only a fmall apartment in each story, and a staircase leading to the top. These two buildings are fimilar in fhape externally, differing only in fize. building contains the apartment for the adoration of the deity, which is lighted by lamps, there being no openings to admit the light; and the larger one at the lower part forms a magnificent gateway or entrance quite through it, each story having a fmall lateral window.

The smaller

The infide of the wall enclofing the area has fometimes a fingle or double colonade all round; which being covered over, the top forms a parapet for the purpofes of defence in time of war.

As the temples are by much too fmall to contain the great concourse of people who come to celebrate the public feftivals and worship the deity, there is in general a large building for that purpose attached to it, called a choultry, which is compofed of a number of columns at certain distances, and covered with a flat roof; these vary in number

and

and magnificence according to the richness of the church.

The relative fituation which these buildings have to each other being explained, I fhall proceed to a more particular defcription of the temple and choultry at Madura.

The temple is facred to the deity under the name of Chocalingam; and. indeed the fame name (that of Lingam) is adopted all over India.

The image or reprefentation of the deity is placed in the middle of the apartment facing the door. It is a block of black granite, about four feet high, of a conic fhape, with the outlines of a human face on the top, and a gold arch over it, carved in open work, refembling the glory.

This figure is never moved from its place; but the bramins upon particular occafions bring out a reprefentation of the deity to gratify the public, at which time he is fuppofed to have affumed a human form, of :about three feet in height, with four arms, made of gold, and in a very fingular manner richly ornamented with jewels and filks.

This image is carried on men's fhoulders in this form feated on a throne, attended by the bramins as his fervants, and feldom appears in public without being accompanied by his wife Minachie.

The temple is four ftories high, and measures about fixty-eight feet, and at the bafe forty-three feet fquare, is built in the form of a pyramid; the firft ftory is of ftone, be

ing much the largeft; the others are of brick, covered over with a par ticular kind of plaifter called chunam*, becoming fmaller as they grow up; the upper ftory being covered with copper very richly gilt. The external furface is ornamented every where with different reprefentations of the deity and pandarams, or religious beggars, interspersed with animals. The bafe of the figures is brick, and the other part plaifter, or chunam, which takes a fine polish, and is very durable. Moft of the ftories are very obscure and fabulous.

The temple is fufficiently large for the performance of the religious, ceremonies, which is the bufinefs of the bramins, and confifts chiefly in washing the figure with water, annointing it with oil, burning perfumes, and decorating it with flowers. Thefe ceremonies are pers formed daily, with mufic and dancing t.

All thofe who come to pay their devotions do not enter the tenple; but fome make their applications in the area, being fatisfied if they fed the figure.

Heretics are never admitted into the temple, nor even into the area; and, fhould it ever happen, the place is defiled, and to purify it the bramins perform certain ceremonies, which confift in rubbing the walls with cow dung, fprinkling them with the urine, and making an of fering.

The outer building or ficeple is

H

built

built in the fame manner, and has the fame ornaments as the temple; it is 162 feet high, 116 broad at the bafe, and 64 in thickness. There is no particular purpose to which it is appropriated that I could ever find out; yet there is this curious circumftance refpecting it, that, in the difputes between the church and the government, which are of a ferious nature, fome enthufiaft goes up great form with mufic to the top of it, and makes a vow, that, if the difpute is not fettled in a certain time, he will throw himfelf from the pinnacle. The dread of having this man's blood upon their heads generally brings about an accommodation; and I have only heard of one inftance where he was under the neceffity of fulfilling his vow.

in

The area which contains the temple is nearly 500 yards fquare.

The age and founder of thefe buildings is not to be afcertained, as the bramins conceal the dates, from an idea that their great antiquity increases the veneration of the people.

Choultries are not only annexed to temples, but built in different places for the accommodation of travellers, and are frequently endowed with revenues by charitable perfons for the purpose of diftributing provifions. They are generally built of stone, with a flat or terraced roof of the fame materials; they have commonly three fides fhut out from the weather, and the one left open is generally that facing the fouth or north, but more commonly the north, by which means neither the fun, nor the unwholefome winds that blow in March and April, can incommode the inhabitants.

The great choultry of Timul Naik was begun in the fecond year of his

reign, in the year 1623, and was finished in twenty-two years, and is faid to have coft above a million fterling; but it is to be understood, that every village was obliged to fend a certain number of wo kmen, according to the number of inhabitants, who were fubfifted, but received no wages, which confiderably diminished the expence.

It is built of an oblong fquare form, and confifts of 124 pillars of ftone placed in four rows. The manner of executing it was as follows. They dug pits at ftated diftances down to fand for a foundation, in which they placed their pillars, which are compofed only of one ftone roughly cut before they were fixed in thefe pits; and when they were all arranged, the different figures were carved upon them. When they did not find fand or gravel, they put in fand, and rammed it well down before they placed the columns.

The pillars are twenty feet high; over thefe pillars were placed the capitals, that are composed of a number of ftones geometrically placed, fo as to leffen the breadth of roof, which they do confiderably.

The roof itfelf is compofed of long ftones, reaching from capital to capital, which being very heavy, and from their length liable to accidents, they were raised to their places in the following manner: the space between the pillars, as high as the top of the capital, was fo filled with earth, as to form an inclined plane, along which the ftones were rolled up to their fituation, and the earth afterwards removed. These stones are again covered with à layer of bricks cemented by chunam.

The pillars are curiously carved with different figures, reprefenting

ftories

ftories connected with their religion, and the family of the founder of the choultry, with a number of devices of the workmen's own invention.

I took the trouble of procuring copies of the defcriptions of the different columns, as registered in the accounts of the temple, and of having them literally tranflated; and shall annex a description of two or three of the pillars, as affording a fpecimen of their ridiculous and abfurd notions refpecting religious history.

Defcription of the Founder's Pillar.

This pillar represents Trimul Naik with his four wives, two on each fide, in a fupplicating pofture; the first was daughter to Ergi Raguah, king of Tanjour; the fecond was daughter to the king of Travencore; the other two were daughters to independent polligars. The first has a mark on her thigh, which was a wound fhe received from her husband by a creefe, for faying, when he asked her opinion of his palace, that it was not equal to her father's neceffary. There are two other figures behind of young women betrothed to him. They are all richly dreffed, and as large as life. Below thefe are fome figures of the women of his haram, of which he had 360, with attend

ants.

Another pillar reprefents the rajah Pundi, when he reigned in Madura. He went a hunting to the weftward, to a village ten miles from Madura, in a wood abounding with wild hogs, where he met a boar and a fow, with twelve pigs. The boar killed feveral of his at

tendants, upon which the rajah fhot him with an arrow, which enraged

the female, who wounded feveral of his people, and was herself likewife killed by the rajah; the young pigs being deftitute, Menachie, wife to Chocalingam, begged her hul band to fupport the pigs, which he agreed to do, and gave them fuck under the form of a fow. The effect of the god's milk was fuch as made them reasonable beings, and their bodies became as men, but ftill retaining the heads of pigs. Chocalingam afterwards made the rajah fupport these twelve pigs as princes in his palace.

Another pillar represents Abiche Pundiam, rajah of Madura, paying his devotions to Chocalingam, which pleafed the fwamy (or deity) fo much, that he metamorphofed himself into a pandaram, who came and performed miracles in Madura; making the old young, and the young old; giving fight to the blind; and moving large trees, &c. The rajah, hearing of this, fent for the pandaram, who refused to come to him, but met the rajah in one of the paffages coming from his devotions; when the rajah afked him of the miracles he could perform, of which he had heard fo much; and begged him to make the ftone elephant come down and eat the fugar-cane he held in his hand, which the pandaram immediately did. The rajah, much furprized, confeffed the prefence of Chocalingam.

There are not only in the choultries, but alfo on the pagodas, many indecent figures, which are not connected with religion, but carved purposely to divert the attention, and prevent the mind of the beholders from being envious, as their fuperftition leads them to fuppole that envy can hurt the building.

It is a curious circumftance, that, if any perfon, having begun one of thefe public buildings, thould die before the completion, nobody will afterwards add a fingle ftone, as it would not convey his name to pofterity, but that of the original founder.

The founder of this choultry lived to compleat four of the largest buildings in India. This choultry, a pagoda, a tank three quarters of a mile fquare, twenty feet deep, and faced with ftone, and a grand palace ornamented with beautiful black granite pillars, fome of which are twenty feet high, cut out of one ftone.

Of the Antiquity of the City of London; from Mr. Pennant's Account.

T was from the merchants who

received the first intelligence of the nature of our country, which induced him to undertake the invafion of Britain, and which in after-times layed the foundation of its conqueft by the Romans.

There is not the leaft reafon to doubt but that London existed at that period, and was a place of much refort. It flood in fuch a ituation as the Britons would felect, according to the rule they establish

ed. An immenfe foreft originally extended to the river fide, and even as late as the reign of Henry II. covered the northern neighbourhood of the city, and was filled with various fpecies of beafts of chace. It was defended naturally by foffes; one formed by the creek which ran along Fleet-ditch, the other, after wards known by that of Walbrook, The fouth fide was guarded by the

Thames. The north they might think fufficiently protected by the adjacent foreft.

Near St. Swithin's church is remnant of antiquity, which fome have fuppofed to have been British; a ftone, which might have formed a part of a Druidical circle, or fome other object of the ancient religion, as it is placed near the center of the Roman precincts. Others have conjectured it to have been a milliary ftone, and to have ferved as a ftandard, from which they began to compute their miles. This feems very reasonable, as the distances from the neighbouring places coincide very exactly. At all times it has been preferved with great care, was placed deep in the ground, and ftrongly faftened with bars of iron. It feems preferved like the Palladium of the city. It is at prefent cafed like a relique, within

middle, which discovers the original. Certainly fuperftitious refpect had been payed to it; for when the notorious rebel Jack Cade passed by it, after he had forced his way into the city, he ftruck his fword on London ftone, faying," Now is Mortimer lord of this citie;" as if that had been a customary ceremony of taking poffeffion.

There is every reason to fuppofe that the Romans poffeffed themfelves of London in the reign of Claudius; under whom Aulus Plautius took Camalodunum, the present Maldon, in Effex, and planted there a colony, confifting of veterans of the fourteenth legion, about a hundred and five years after the first invafion of our inland by Cæfar. This was the firft footing the Romans had in Britain. It seems certain that London and Verulam were

taken