392 Hamilton’s account of the east indies.
Connymere or Conjemeer is the next place, where the Englilh had a factory manyyears, but, on their purchafing Fort St. David, it was broken up, and transferredthither. At prefent its name is hardly feen in the map of trade.
Near Connymere are the feven pagods, one of which, whofe name I have now for-got, is celebrated among the Pagans for fanftity, and is famous for the yearly pil-grimages made there. The god was very obfcene, if his image rightly reprefentshim, and his nymphs as lewd as any in Drury-Iane, if their poftures were reallyfigured and carved as they are to be feen on the cutfide of the temple. Here it wasthat St. Thomas’s perfecution fir ft began, becaufe he could draw a fhort tree to a greatlength, as wiredrawers do metals, and the Pagan priefts being ignorant of fuch piecesof art, made them cry out, that St. Thomas was an arrant conjurer ; for as the Romiftiftory goes, the fireflies coming down in rivuletc, had made fome of them pretty deepto what they ufed to be, and a lady going to church, could not get over one of them,becaufe a tree, that was laid for a common bridge, was too fhort at that time, andSt. Thomas, who preached in the country villages, a doftrine oppofite to the efta-blifhed church, accidentally being there, drew the tree to fuch a length, that the ladycould pafs without wetting her foot, upon which (he became a convert, to the greatdiflatisfadtion of the eftablifhed clergy, who loft a devout and charitable benefadrefsby that trick of St. Thomas.
The priefts, as is ufual in fuch cafes, cried out, that the church was in danger, andfo inflamed the minds of the populace, that St. Thomas, finding himfelf in greaterdanger than the church, thought it beft to get out of harm’s way, and fo marched tothe northward, whither I muft follow him to.
Saderafs, or Saderafs Patam, a fmall fatlory belonging to the Dutch to buy uplong cloth. The country is healthful, and the ground fertile, which make them capableof aflifting their neighbours at Fort St. George with fallading and pot herbs, theground there being very fterile.
Cabelon is next, where the Offenders have fettled a fa&ory. There is nothingremarkable there, but a point of rocks that runs about half a mile into the fea, andthofe make a fmooth landing-place in the fouthweft monfoons.
St. Thomas is next, which lies about three miles to the fouthward of Fort St.George. The city was built by the Portugueze, and they made the apoftle its god-father y but, before that, it was called Malliapore. There is a little dry rock on theland, within it, called the Little Mount, where the apoftle defigned to have hid hiin-felf, till the fury of the Pagan priefts his perfecutors had blown over. There was aconvenient cave in that rock for his purpofe, but not one drop of water to drink, foSt. Thomas cleft the rock with his hand, and commanded water to come into the cliff*which command it readily obeyed; and, ever fince, there is water in that clift, bothfweet and clear. When I faw it, there were not above three gallons in it. He ftaidthere a few days, but his enemies had an account of his place of refuge, and were re-folved to facrifice him, and, in great numbers, were approaching the mount. Whenhe faw them coming, he left his cave, and came down in order to feek fhelter fomewhere elfe ; and, at the foot of the mount, as a teftimony that he had been there, heftampt with his bare foot, on a very hard ftone, and left the print of it, which re-mains there to this day, a witnefs againft thofe perfecuting priefts. The print of hisfoot is about fixteen inches long, and, in proportion, narrower at the heel and broaderat the toes than the feet now in ufe among us. He, fleeing for his life to anotherlarger mount, about two miles from the little one, was overtaken on the top of if’
6 w before