22 AN HISTORICAL DISQUISITION

SECT. to that of which the government was committedI. to Lotus.

It was likewise from the Memoirs of the fameofficers that Europe derived its first authentic infor-mation concerning the climate, the foil, the pro-ductions, and the inhabitants of India; and in acountry where the manners, the customs, and eventhe dress of the people are almost as permanent andinvariable as the face of nature itself, it is wonder-ful how exactly the descriptions given by Alexan-der’s officers delineate what we now behold inIndia, at the distance of two thousand years. Thefiated change of seasons, now known by the nameof Monsoons; the periodical rains; the swelling ofthe rivers; the inundations which these occasion;the appearance of the country during their- conti-nuance; are particularly mentioned and described.No less accurate are the descriptions which theyhave given of the inhabitants, their delicate andslender form, their dark complexion, their blackuncurled hair , their garments of cotton, theirliving entirely upon vegetable food , their divisioninto separate tribes or casts, the members of whichnever intermarry, the custom of wives burningthemselves with their deceased husbands, and manyother particulars, in all which they perfectly resemblethe modern Hindoos. To enter into any detailwith respect to these in this place would be pre-mature; but as the subject though curious andinteresting, will lead unavoidably into discussionsnot well suited to the nature of a historical work,I shall reserve my ideas concerning it for an Appen-