Tanjore

“ The conduct of honourable men would have been to offer themselves as mediators, and so settle the business; but not by such means was the whole of India to be won from the native princes. The Rajah of the Carnatic offered to purchase the territory of Tanjore from the British for a large sum. The latter, however, had guaranteed the defence of these territories to the Rajah of Tanjore by express treaty. No matter, they closed the bargain with the Rajah of the Carnatic; they agreed to seize Tanjore, and make it over to Mohammed Ali. ”

“ A dress of ten yards can be bought of this beautiful material for 24 rupees.263 Red and purple are the principal colours, and these, with the gold thread woven in border designs of elephants, horses and peacocks, have a very gorgeous effect.
European influence seems to have declined in Tanjore, although there are numerous Christian missions about. What strikes the unprejudiced spectator is the extreme unsuitability of any modern western type of Protestant Christianity, with all that it involves to the native mind, to say nothing of climate and habit. ”

“ This statue of the sacred Bull, a celebrated idol at Tanjore, is formed of a single block of stone, sixteen feet two inches in length, by twelve feet six inches in height, and of a kind not to be met with but at a considerable distance from Tanjore; from which circumstance the natives are very much inclined to attribute something miraculous to the bringing of it thither; particularly as no records are yet discovered respecting the time of erecting it. ”

“ At Tanjore one of these schools was filled with children from the best families, and the young men from the seminaries obtained good situations under the Government at Madras. Schwartz looked forward to developing in this direction a residential academy for catechists and was very anxious to start a provincial school at Combaconum, which was a very idolatrous place. But with the Rajah Ameer Sing he did not find such a favourable reception of his plans as with the old King Tuljajee, his predecessor. ”

“ In these circumstances Wellesley decided to place Sarfoji in the position of a mediatised prince, and to vest the actual administration in the company's government. This was effected by a treaty concluded on 25 Oct. 1799, which remained in force until 1855, when, owing to the death of the last rájá without leaving a male heir, Tanjore was annexed. Under British rule, both before and since the annexation, Tanjore has prospered wonderfully, and has long been one of the richest districts in India. ”

“ Roman Catholic missions in Tanjore date from the first half of the 17th century, and the number of native Roman Catholics in 1881 was 67,745. Five towns have populations exceeding 10,000, viz., Tanjore (see below) , Negapatam 53,855, Combaconum 50,098, Mayavaram 23,044, and Munnargudi 19,409.
Of the total area of the district, reckoned at 2,392,117 acres, 1,468,500 were returned in 1884-85 as cultivated, and 149,228 as available for cultivation, while forests covered 21,422 acres. Rice is the staple crop, and is raised almost entirely by artificial irrigation; green crops are common ”

“ Throughout the year 1794 many letters full of fatherly advice were written by Schwartz from Tanjore to his young ward Serfogee at Madras. He counsels him to look to nothing less than the Almighty power of [Pg 154] God as a sufficient help in the perilous paths of his youth. “Your welfare, believe me,” he writes, “depends entirely upon God who governs all things. If He is your God and Father all will be well. But that He may be your protector and benefactor, you must honour, adore and fear Him. If you refuse to acknowledge Him, it is but just if He forsakes you. ”

“ Shortly afterwards the army moved to invade Tanjore and the place was captured with hardly any resistance or loss, the poor affrighted King and his family were made prisoners, the Nabob took the kingdom and its treasure, and Schwartz found himself and his work under new masters and at a disadvantage. He appealed for more considerate treatment but was refused, and he reported the state of affairs to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, pointing out “that many of the best families would not hesitate to become Christians, could it be shown how they could maintain themselves. ”

“ The staple crop is rice, which is grown on 77 per cent, of the cultivated area. Tanjore is a land of temples, many of them being of very early date. The district is traversed by the main line and several branches of the South Indian railway, some of which have been constructed by the district board. ”

“ The women never wear a cloth above the waist, but go absolutely bare on breast and shoulders. The two rivers which bound this district on the north and south are rigid limits to the travels of the women, who are on no pretext allowed to cross them. It is said that, if they make vows to the deity of a celebrated temple in Tanjore, they have to perform their pilgrimage to the temple in the most perfect secrecy, and that, if detected, they are fined. ”

“ Tilleináthan’s pupil, the teacher of whom I am presently speaking, is married and has a wife and children. Most of these “ascetics” think nothing of abandoning their families when the call comes to them, and of going to the woods perhaps never to be seen again. He however has not done this, but lives on quietly at home at Tanjore. Thirty or forty years ago he was a kind of confidential friend and adviser to the then reigning prince of Tanjore, and was well up in traditional state-craft and politics ”

“ The war left Tanjore in terrible distress, which was aggravated by the oppression and avarice of the rajah. Thousands fled the country and left it waste. Schwartz was nominated a member of a committee of investigation. Through his means the rajah was induced without coercion to do his people justice; seven thousand of them returned to cultivate the fields on the faith of Schwartz's pledges. ”

“ The real contest throughout had been between the nabob of Arcot and the raja of Tanjore. Each member of the council took a side, and, though Pigot greatly exceeded his powers while endeavouring to carry out the instructions of the directors, his antagonists were clearly not justified in deposing him. Both parties in the council were greatly to be blamed, and that they were both actuated by interested motives there can be little reason to doubt. ”

“ In connection with recent Dasara festivities at Mysore, I read that there were wrestling matches, acrobatic feats, dumb-bell and figure exercises by Rāchevars.
In the Tanjore Manual it is noted that the Rāchevars are "descendants of immigrants from the Telugu country, who apparently followed the Nāyak viceroys of the Vijayanagar empire in the sixteenth century. They are more or less jealous of the purity of their caste. Their language is Telugu. They wear the sacred thread." ”

“ Pride makes us deaf, but true humility enables us to make the best use of friendly instructions. Our pride makes us indolent so that we are loth to exert ourselves. We grow angry with those who intend to stir us up, as a sleeper becomes angry with the man who awakes him.”
It was always in the mind of Schwartz that this young man would one day sit on the throne of Tanjore and that in that position he must exercise the gifts of a ruler and show discretion and courage in dealing with others. Serfogee had no doubt some excellent qualities and his training while at Madras in the care of Mr. ”

“ The tradition that a Valaiya woman was the mother of the Vallambans seems to show that the Valaiyans must be [273] one of the most ancient castes in the country.” In the Tanjore Manual they are described as “inhabitants of the country inland who live by snaring birds, and fishing in fresh waters. They engage also in agricultural labour and cooly work, such as carrying loads, husking paddy (rice) , and cutting and selling fire-wood. They are a poor and degraded class.” The Valaiyans are expert at making cunningly devised traps for catching rats and jungle fowl. ”

“ The nearest road leading from Volcondah towards Karical falls upon the Coleroon, 30 miles N. N. W. of the city of Tanjore. Having crossed the river, which is there spacious, you continue to Combaconum, which stands five miles farther, on the bank of the first arm of the Caveri; and beyond this is another arm to cross, before you join the road leading east to the sea-shore: much of the ground between the rivers is sunk in marshes, and the better ground is overflowed in rice-fields, without any continued road, which greatly retard the passage of carriages ”

“ Do you mean the inhabitants of Europe, which is a forest not yet cleared; or the inhabitants of Asia, which is a ruin about to tumble?'
'The railroads will clear the forest,' said Besso. 'And what is to become of the ruin?' asked Tancred.
'God will not forget His land.' 'That is the truth; the government of this globe must be divine, and the impulse can only come from Asia.'
'If your government only understood the Eastern question!' said Mr. Consul-General Laurella, pricking up his ears at some half phrase that he had caught, and addressing Tancred across the table. ”

“ So that when I was in Tangier, half-naked Moors, taking every white stranger for an Englishman, would point a finger at me and cry, "Your Sultana a fool; the Sultan only wise." Which shows what a superior people we are when we get away from home, and how well the English understand the people they like to protect.
Tangier lies like a mass of drifted snow on the green hills below, and over the point of rock on which stands its fortress, and from which waves the square red flag of Morocco. It is a fine place spoiled by civilization. And not a nice quality of civilization either. ”

“ There is more movement in Tangier than I have ever noticed in a place of its size. Every one is either looking on cross-legged from the bazars and coffee-shops, or rushing, pushing, and screaming in the street. It is most bewildering; if you turn to look after a particularly magnificent Moor, or a half-naked holy man from the desert with wild eyes and hair as long as a horse's mane, you are trodden upon by a string of donkeys carrying kegs of water, or pushed to one side by a soldier with a gun eight feet long. ”

“ What enemy among your people could the daughter of Besso have found?'
'A deadly one, who seized the occasion offered to a long cherished vengeance; one who for years has been alike the foe and the victim of her race and house. There is no hope!'
'I am indeed amazed. Who could this be?'
'Your friend; at least, your supposed friend, the Emir of the Lebanon.'
'Fakredeen?'
'You have said it.'
'The assassin and the foe of Eva!' exclaimed Tancred, with a countenance relieved yet infinitely perplexed. 'There must be some great misconception in all this. ”

“ The whole life of Tangier seems to be lived in the streets. The market is a perfect babel of strange tongues. Veiled women seated on the ground sell queer flat loaves of bread and great bunches of violets. The stalls are piled with golden tangerines, tiny limes, mammoth lemons, scarlet peppers, purple eggplant—every fruit or vegetable you ever saw and many you never heard of!
The children are very handsome with enormous eyes and skins of bronze velvet! The Moorish is the best Oriental dress I have seen, save that of the Bedouins of the Pyramids, which it resembles. ”

“ For Tangier swarms with people in European clothes, there are English, French and Spanish signs above its shops, and cab-stands in its squares; it belongs, as much as Algiers, to the familiar dog-eared world of travel—and there, beyond the last dip of "the Mountain," lies the world of mystery, with the rosy dawn just breaking over it. The motor is at the door and we are off.
The so-called Spanish zone, which encloses internationalized Tangier in a wide circuit of territory, extends southward for a distance of about a hundred and fifteen kilometres. ”

“ Tancred, shrouded in his Bedouin cloak, and accompanied by Baroni, visited the circle of black tents, which they found almost empty, the whole band, with the exception of the scouts, who are always on duty in an Arab encampment, being assembled in the ruins of the amphitheatre, in whose arena, opposite to the pavilion of the great Sheikh, a celebrated poet was reciting the visit of Antar to the temple of the fire-worshippers, and the adventures of that greatest of Arabian heroes among the effeminate and astonished courtiers of the generous and magnificent Nushirvan. ”

“ This was Amalek himself, on one of his steeds of race, accompanied by several of his leading Sheikhs, coming to welcome Tancred to his pavilion in the Syrian pastures. A joyful satisfaction sparkled in the bright eyes of the old chieftain, as, at a little distance, he waved his hand with graceful dignity, and then pressed it to his heart.
'A thousand salaams,' he exclaimed, when he had reached Tancred; 'there is but one God. I press you to my heart of hearts. There are also other friends, but they are not here.'
'Salaam, great Sheikh! I feel indeed we are brothers. ”

“ Tancred roamed about the house, surveyed his court and garden, sighed, while Baroni rewarded and dismissed their escort. 'I know not how it is,' he at length said to his intendant, 'but I never could have supposed that I could have felt so sad and spiritless at Jerusalem.'
'It is the reaction, my lord, after a month's wandering in the desert. It is always so: the world seems tame.'
'I am disappointed that Besso is not here. I am most anxious to see him.'
'Shall I send for the Colonel, my lord?' said Baroni, shaking Tancred's Arabian cloak. ”