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It mull be obferved, that throughout both Carnatics, except at Madras , and fomeother large towns under the government of infidels, the Brahmans appropriate tothemfelves a particular quarter of every town, and that generally the belt fortified.A Sudra is not permitted to dwell in the fame ftreet with a Brahman; while heagain exacts the fame difference from the Whalliaru or Parriars, and other low calls.Thefe people in general live in wretched huts about the fuburbs. A Brahman isconfidered as polluted by merely walking through fuch a place.
Although the Nerium odorum is very common by the fides of rivers in mod partsof the Myfore dominions, I found a garden here, of about an acre in extent, which wasplanted with nothing elfe. The flowers are dedicated to the temple, and a garland-maker is paid by a merchant to gather them for the ufe of the god. This is one ofthe deeds called charity by the Hindus. This plant has ufualiy been taken for theoleander, which, I believe, is not a native of India .
16th May. — I went to Mur.dium, through a country free from hills, but of whichnot more than one half is arable. Much of it, however, migiit be rendered fo with-out difficulty. The foil is in general poor. The wafte-land is occupied by brufhwood.and many places are covered with the Phoenix farinifera, Roxb. among which arefome trees of the wild date.
It is reported, that this tree was formerly very common; but Tippoo , obferving thathis fubjedts frequently intoxicated themfelves with the tari, ordered the whole tobe cut down; and in places near the capital the order was enforced.
This Prince is faid to have attempted to introduce a great ftrittnefs of manners,;abfolutely prohibiting the ufe of all fpirituous liquors, and ordering that no loofewomen fhould be tolerated. He was himfelf, however, unreafonably addicted towomen; and the Brahmans here allege, that he fometimes forced away the moftbeautiful of their daughters. After fome detention in the Zenana, if he did not likethem, he fent the girls back to their fathers, who, in general, refufed to admit theminto their families. But Tippoo was not to be treated in this manner with impunity.On fuch occafions, he fent for the father, took from him all his property, andflogged him feverely. He then ordered the girl to point out any Brahman for ahufband, and the unfortunate man was flogged until he gave his confent. A lofs ofcall, of courfe, enfued ; but the hufband commonly fled out of Tippoo ’s dominions,leaving his wife behind, to want, or proflitution. On going to another place, andturning away his unclean wife, he could get an abfolution from his Guru, with per-miflion to marry again.
The hedges here, like thofe which I faw yeflerday, are very bad fences, and aremade of the Euphorbium antiquorum. When the ground is fown, the farmers fill upthe gaps with thorns cut from the Mimofa indica of Lamarck . This tree is allowedto grow promifcuoufly through the fields, and its branches are lopped off for fuel,and for repairing the fences. Its fhade does not injure the crops, and its timber isvaluable for making ploughs, and other inftruments of agriculture.
Mundium is a poor village, fortified by a mud wall that has been rebuilt fince thereftoration of the Raja’s government. It was formerly an agrarum, or villagebellowed in charity on the Brahmans. They were deprived of it by Tippoo , when,he annexed to the circar or public, all the property of that kind.
In the evening a flight of locufts paffed over the town. It extended in length pro-bably about three miles ; its width was about a hundred yards, and its height fifty feet.The infects paffed from weft to eaft in the direction of the wind, at the rate of "fix orfeven miles an hour. The whole ground and every tree and bufh, was covered with
4 0 2 them;