Fanny Emily Penny

“ Nature has taught them that their moss-tinted plumage will prove a better protection from the hawking-kite and predatory wild cat than flight. Butterflies pass over the rocky, thorny surface of the hill with enviable ease, as strong on the wing as birds. They come to deposit their eggs on the vegetation, and, having done so, they return to the paddy fields and jungle, where the flowers are more plentiful. Overhead the kites circle, swooping down now and then upon a snake that has come out of this thorny lair to sun itself upon a slab of rock. ”

“ The Golden Rock at Trichinopoly is a solitary hill that has figured in the history of our struggle with the French for the mastery in south India. It is so called from its golden colour at sunset. It is a mass of iron-stone, which draws to itself the lightning of the storms that sweep over the plain. It is believed that untold wealth is hidden in its clefts, but the treasure is guarded by the most venomous snakes. When a rich man dies and his wealth is not inherited by others, it is said that he is turned into a snake and guards his property in that form. ”

“ There must have been much amusement in the fort over the incident and possibly some gratification, for Seaton had friends and relatives on the council who sympathised with him rather than with Pitt.
The shape of the island has been slightly altered since those days and the river reduced in breadth, but Nature remains the same. The birds that haunt its borders are unchanged. The timid sandpiper still runs over the mud-banks by the water's edge after the still fleeter land-crab that scuds along like a piece of thistle-down blown by the wind. ”

“ The shoals of small fish look like living bits of silver as they are drawn out of the water. They are of a muddy flavour, but much sought after by the natives for curry. Gulls fly over the surface of the pools with melancholy cry. Sandpipers run over the shining mudbanks lower down, where the water is brackish and where the reeds grow, and tiny sunbirds flaunt their metallic tints in the brilliant sunshine on the banks.
There had been a 'wash-out,' as the railway people familiarly term a flood, a short time before I paid a visit to Cuddalore. ”

“ The native of the south has a proverb to the effect that ‘old muck and plenty of water' is good for the soil; but there is a lurking conviction at the bottom of every Hindu heart that the best of all manures is human blood. Blood is life, and when it is poured out upon the ground the life soaks in with it. It is this superstition that is at the bottom of occasional murders. A foolish woman who has no children will believe that her barrenness may be overcome by anointing herself with the blood of a child. ”

“ When the monsoon has blown off some of its fury and settled down into gentle breezes the sea is comparatively smooth, although it never sinks to the gentle ripple of the southern English coast in summer. There is always a line of breakers even in the calmest weather. They roll in from the Bay of Bengal, as the waves roll in from the Atlantic on the French coast and fall in subdued thunder upon the sand. The Muckwa braves the elements at most times of the year, and the waves must be very boisterous to keep him from his calling. ”

“ He searched everywhere, but he could find no trace of his deity; the gods were gone from the earth for ever.
He still flies about in his fruitless search, calling for his god and carrying the clothes round his neck, as any Hindu can see who looks at the bird. His melancholy distressed cry for Vishnu will never cease. If he found the god he would not recognise him, for in the awful birth of the kali-yuga Vishnu himself was changed from white to black. ”

“ The merchants sought relief inland, and built garden-houses among the luxuriant trees of the Luz. The Luz lies between Teynampet and the sea, and is within easy reach of St. Thome. The large airy houses with their thick walls and massive pillars were more suited to the taste of the proud old dons than the crowded fort. They laid out gardens, cultivated the sweet Persian rose, the oleander, and the double jasmin ; they lived in princely fashion with a number of slaves to do their bidding. The road between the Luz and St. Thome, as well as the streets of Mylapore, presented a gay and busy scene. ”

“ On the west coast the bishop had his experience of munchils hammocks slung on poles and carried by bearers and made the acquaintance of the house-boat on the back waters of Cochin and Travancore, the pleasantest mode of all travelling in the south of India.
A luxuriant tropical vegetation forms a beautiful setting to these natural canals. At sunset, when the flaming crimsons and yellows, the translucent greens and blues of the sky are reflected upon the smooth surface of the water, a glorious scene is presented which the traveller, reclining in ease and comfort, can fully appreciate. ”

“ The crocodile, common to moats, tanks, ponds, and rivers of India, is better known as the mugger. It is the scavenger of the fresh-water world, as the jackal is the scavenger on dry land. It eats fish, animals, and human beings. There is a horrible tradition that in the old days, when native princes hunted the mugger, the best bait to draw the reptile from his lair was a black baby. The wailing of the deserted child never failed to bring it out. Many tales are told of men who have ventured within its reach, and have swum the moats in defiance of the mugger. They have not always escaped. ”

“ Mary's Church in the fort to rest in the family vault at home, it was carried to the beach, and the Muckwas piloted it for the last time through the surf and assisted to place the honoured remains on board the Company's ship. The body of Cornwallis still lies in India. Fair women, toiling men, soldiers, merchants, statesmen, and adventurers have listened with beating heart to the roar of the falling waves and tothe shouts of the boatmen; and they have sent up their silent thanks to heaven when they have felt the welcome beat of the boat's keel upon the sand of the Coromandel Coast. ”

“ Such a thing as a famine of water has happily never touched the British Isles.
Water famines are confined mostly to the countries lying under a tropical sun. It is an appalling misfortune when springs dry up and the rivers cease to flow; when every vestige of green grass and other vegetation disappears; when the trees stand bare, as in winter, amidst their own fallen leaves, lifting skeleton branches against the fiery sky. ”

“ If the dwellings of the natives are mean, the trees that shelter them are not. Many of the roads are adorned with magnificent avenues, and every compound possesses groups of trees that would be an ornament to any English park.
One of the most striking trees is the flamboyant Poinciana regia, a native of Madagascar. Its acacia foliage is of a vivid green, and its boughs are laden with masses of brilliant scarlet blossom. In some parts of India the flowers bloom before the leaves unfold. The tree then appears clothed completely in scarlet, a strange sight in the blaze of the midday sun. ”

“ They are indifferent to the presence of the European, and pursue their vocations as though no stranger were near. If their curiosity is roused they stop to stare, and possibly to ask questions ; otherwise they go their ways with unconcern. Through the streets passes the wedding procession with beat of drum and playing of pipes. The dead are carried along the road with wailing and every sign of bitter grief. At the wayside devil-stone or temple the worshipper performs his pujah careless of those who may have the curiosity to stop and look on. ”

“ Its slender stems are thrown up in artistic sweeps towards the sky, no two making the same curve, and its crown of foliage spreads out into a bouquet of fronds, arranged by nature with a skill that exceeds the cunning of the human hand. When the sun has set and night is approaching the fire-flies swarm out and carry their scintillating lamps to their playground among the fronds.
Madras is well said to be 'a city of magnificent distances.' Not only are the roads long, but the private drives up to the houses are a considerable length. ”

“ There are many superstitions concerning the banyan. One is that lightning never strikes it; 'a notion,' says George Johnstone in his 'Stranger in India,' 'probably founded on experience. The fact, if truth it be, is to be accounted for by the resinous non-conducting quality of its leaves and wood.' With its many stems and evergreen foliage it is the emblem of immortality. The tradition is that all nature will pass away except one big mystic banyan tree. Under this tree the Diety will be enthroned and glorified. ”

“ The branches interlace overhead and form a long aisle of wood and foliage. It is beautiful in all its aspects : in the early morning, when the mist is rising and the blue smoke of the wood-fires hangs like a curtain of delicate gauze over the still vegetation in the broad rays of the noonday sun, when every leaf glistens with reflected light ; at sunset, when horizontal shafts of gold pierce the western side of the road and touch the grey stems of the trees; and even at night, when the full moon throws a lacework of patterns upon the roadway. ”

“ The nautch-girls were rewarded with munificent liberality, and the queen herself was honoured by the King with marriage with accompanying festivities that were usually accorded only to princesses of royal blood. All through the ceremonies she never once gave a thought to the unhappy man who in his great and trusting love had confided to her the secret of the walls of his fort. On the night when she was conducted to the palace of the King, when silence reigned and his Majesty slept, the spectre of the goldsmith appeared by the queen's side. ”

“ Terrible stories were told by historians of the straits to which the people were reduced by famines in the old days before there were railways to distribute the grain, or to carry the multitudes to the water-springs that were not exhausted. Men and women in the throes of starvation were like beasts, ready to tear each other to pieces in the madness of their hunger, and to slay each other for a cup of water. ”

“ There was the body shining in the rays of the newly risen sun, and wonderful to relate the arm had grown again. Here was an inexhaustible source of wealth, and the Naick made good use of it. He built the temple and the great fort that subsequently became one of the most important strongholds in South India. When the building was finished and the treasury filled to overflowing, the wonderful image of gold, whole and unblemished, was thrown into the tank inside the fort, where it is said to be still lying. ”

“ The pujah was left unperformed while they returned to their homes to seek the advice of their women. Long into the night they sat by the fire under the big banyan tree in the centre of their village, holding council with heavy hearts and perplexed minds. At last an old woman arose and said:
‘Pah! foolish men that you are to bring this evil upon us ! but since it has come we must rid ourselves of it as best we may. To-morrow take beams and boards to the temple; and there, before the open door, let Kolomayi see you making another raft. ”

“ It was a dirty, squalid Blacktown, albeit a very happy one as a rule. The contrast between it and the well-laid out, carefully preserved fort distressed the worthy merchants. In vain they represented to the citizens, through the headmen of their castes, that cleanliness was desirable and beneficial. The citizens of Blacktown did not wish to be clean. It was their time-honoured custom to throw their household rubbish into the streets, where children and pigs gamboled among buffaloes and goats, and they said that it was good enough for them. ”