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Nay, what is more extraordinary, if the descriptions which have been given of her person, by Mr Granger and others, be correct, it will follow that latterly she must have increased considerably in bulk; for we did not find the abdomen "so remarkably sunk in," as Mr G. saw it; we did not succeed, like Mr Taylor, in tracing, with the finger, the grand trunk of the aorta," from the place most immediately under the ensiform process of the sternum, where the loose integument is drawn upon it, nearly to its bifurcation," in drawing it "from its situation over the spine," and "holding the skin across it," so as to shew "both its shape and pulsation;" nor did Ann Moore appear to us, as she did to J. L.," the most emaciated creature that ever existed." Now, it has been shewn, that a considerable evaporation is constantly taking place from her lungs and skin; nothing, therefore, short of an actual miracle, can solve the problem of the increased size of her body, under such circumstances..

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13. The variations and contradictions in her statements. It would appear, from Mr Taylor's narrative, that she continued the use of solid food in small quantities till the end of June 1807; but to us she positively averred, that she had taken nothing since the week before Easter of that year. When Mr Thompson saw her, she acknowledged, that she passed a small quantity of urine once a-week, and he understood this to be the case at the time when he wrote, (August 1809;) but to us she declared, that she had voided none since the end of August 1808. In reply to a question by Mr Corn, she asserted, that she ne ver perspired; but to us she admitted, that she perspired freely, when she had fits. To the gentleman whose thermometer she demolished, she complained of pain, and cried out upon the slightest touch of the abdomen; whilst she allowed us to use consider

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able pressure, without expressing the least uneasiness. On the contrary, she repeatedly assured us, that we gave her no pain by the force which we employed.

14. The inconsistency of her actions with her statements. If the attempt to eat and drink really caused her "such misery of deglutition," as Mr Taylor expresses it, why did she do either; especially as she had lost all desire of food so early as November 1806? Her deceit respecting the contraction of the middle finger of her left hand, and inability to use it, has been already noticed. To Mr Thompson she pretended to be in a state of such weakness, as made it great labour, and even pain for her to attempt to move; but upon his threatening her with a repetition of the watching," she so completely forgot her situation," says Mr T. " that she raised herself upright in bed, a position in which, we had previously learned, she had not been for more than a year, griped her fists, threw her arms and head about with as much strength and ease as the most healthy woman of an equal age could possibly do, and talked at the same time most loudly and incessantly, from the effect of violent passion." These inconsistencies are alone sufficient to throw discredit on every thing she says.

Other facts and arguments might be adduced; but I trust, that I have collected a sufficient body of evidence to prove, that there are no solid grounds for supposing, that the order of nature is subverted in the person of Ann Moore; but, on the contrary, that there is every reason to believe, that her abstinence is feigned, and her sufferings, in a great measure simulated. Such an inference Mr Granger is pleased to denominate an hypothesis; but the hypothesis appears to me to be on the part of those who imagine that a human being can exist, in a state of comparative health and strength, during a term of months

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the stranger, I was expected to move first. Does not this seem a little barbarous? I found our fair companions, like the ladies of all the country towns I know, under-bred and overdressed, and, with the exception of one or two, very ignorant and very grossiére. The men are, in general, what a Hindoo would call of a higher caste than the women; and I generally find the merchants the most rational companions. Having, at a very ear

Account of the Inhabitants and State ly age, to depend on their own mental

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WITH regard to the Europeans in Bombay, the manners of the inhabitants of a foreign colony are in general so well represented by those of a country town at home, that it is hopeless to attempt making a description of them very interesting. However, as it may be gratifying to know how little there is to satisfy curiosity, I shall endeavour to describe our colonists. On our arrival we dined with the governor, and found almost all the English of the settlement invited to meet us. There were a good many very pretty and very well dressed women, a few ancient belles, and at least three men for every woman. When dinner was announced, I, as the stranger, though an unmarried woman, was handed by the governor into a magnificent dining-room, formerly the chapel of the Jesuits college, at one end of which a tolerable band was stationed to play during dinner. We sat down to table about eight o'clock, in number about fifty, so that conversation, unless with one's next neighbour, was out of the question. After dinner, I was surprised that the ladies sat so long at the table; at length, after everybody had exhibited repeated symptoms of weariness, one of the ladies led the way into the saloon, and then I discovered that, as

exertions, they acquire a steadiness and sagacity which prepare their minds for the acquisition of a variety of information, to which their commercial intercourse leads.

The civil servants to government being, in Bombay, for the most part young men, are so taken up with their own imaginary importance, that they disdain to learn, and have nothing to teach. Among the military I have met with many well-informed and gentleman-like persons, but still, the great number of men, and the small number of rational companions, make a deplorable prospect to one who anticipates a long residence here.

The parties in Bombay are the most dull and uncomfortable meetings one can imagine. Forty or fifty persons assemble at seven o'clock, and stare at one another till dinner is announced, when the ladies are handed to table, according to the strictest rules of precedency, by a gentleman of a rank corresponding to their own. At table there can be no general conversation, but the different couples who have been paired off, and who, on account of their rank, invariably sit together at every great dinner, amuse themselves with remarks on the company, as satirical as their wit will allow; and woe be to the stranger whose ears are certain of being regaled with the catalogue of his supposed imperfections and misfortunes, and who has the chance of learning more of his own history than in all proba

bility he ever knew before. After dinner, the same topics continue to occupy the ladies, with the addition of lace, jewels, intrigues, and the latest fashions; or if there be any newly-arrived young women, the making and breaking matches for them furnish employment for the ladies of the colony till the arrival of the next cargo. Such is the company at an English Bombay feast. The repast itself is as costly as possible, and in such profusion, that no part of the table-cloth remains uncovered. But the dinner is scarcely touched, as every person eats a hearty meal called tiffin, at two o'clock, at home. Each guest brings his own servant, sometimes two or three; these are either Parsees or Mussulmans.It appears singular to a stranger to see behind every white man's chair a dark, long-bearded, turbaned gentleman, who usually stands so close to his master, as to make no trifling addition to the heat of the apartment; indeed, were it not for the punka (a large frame of wood covered with cloth), which is suspended over every table, and kept constantly swinging, in order to freshen the air, it would scarcely be possible to sit out the melancholy ceremony of an Indian dinner.

On leaving the eating-room, one generally sees, or hears, in some place near the door, the cleaning of dishes, and the squabbling of cooks for their perquisites. If they are within sight, one perceives a couple of dirty Portugueze (black men who cat pork and wear breeches) directing the operations of half a dozen still dirtier Pariahs, who are scraping dishes and plates with their hands, and then, with the same unwashen paws, putting aside the next day's tiffin for their master's table.

The equipage that conveys one from a party, if one does not use a palankeen, is curious. The light and elegant figure of the Arab horses is a

strong contrast with the heavy carriages and clumsy harness generally seen here; the coachman is always a whiskered Parsee, with a gay-coloured turban, and a muslin or chintz gown, and there are generally two massalgees, or torch-bearers, and sometimes two horse-keepers, to run before one. On getting home, one finds a sepoy or peon walking round the open virandas of the house, as a guard. We have four of these servants, two of whom remain in the house for twenty-four hours, when they are relieved by the two others. These men carry messages, go to market, and attend to the removal of goods or furniture, but will carry nothing themselves heavier than a small book. The female servants are Portuguese, and they only act as ladies-maids, all household work being done by men, as well as the needle-work of the family.

The derdjees, or tailors, in Bombay, are Hindoos of a respectable caste, who wear the zenaar. My derdjee, a tall good-looking young man, wears a fine worked muslin gown, and a red or purple turban bordered with gold. He works and cuts out beautifully, making as much use of his toes as of his fingers in the last operation; his wages are fourteen rupees a month, for which he works eight hours a-day; inferior workmen receive from eight to twelve rupees. Besides the hamauls for the palankeens, we have some for householdwork; they make the beds, sweep and clean the rooms and furniture, and fetch water on any emergency they help the palankeen-bearers, and receive assistance from them in return. For the meaner offices we have a Hallalcor or Chandela, (one of the most wretched Pariahs,) who attends twice a-day. Two Massalgees clean and light the lamps and candles, and carry torches before us at night. One of these is a Pariah, so that he can clean knives, remove bones and rubbish, which his fellow-servant Nersu, whe

is of a good caste, will not do. Nersu fetches bread and flour, carries messages, and even parcels, provided they be not large enough to make him appear like a kooli, or porter, and takes the greatest share of preparing the lamps, which are finger-glasses, or tumblers, half filled with water, on which they pour the coco-nut oil, always calculating it exactly to the number of hours the lamp has to burn; the wick is made of cotton twisted round a splinter of bamboo. The native masons, carpenters, and blacksmiths, are remarkably neat and dexterous in their several trades. There is plenty of stone on the island for building, but a good deal of brick is used. All the lime here is made from shells; it is called chunam, of which there are many kinds, one of which the natives eat with the betel nut.They are very particular in gathering the shells, no person taking two different sorts; they are burnt separately, and it is said that the chunam varies according to the shell it is made from.

The Indian carpenter's tools are so coarse, and the native wood is so hard, that one would wonder that the work was ever performed. Almost every thing is done with a chissel and an axe. The gimlet is a long piece of iron wire with a flat point, fixed into a wooden handle consisting of two parts, the upper one of which is held in one hand, while the other is turned by a bow, whose string is twisted twice round it. The plane is small, but similar to that of Europe, excepting that it has a cross stick in the front, which serves as a handle for another workman, two being generally employed at one plane. As the comforts of a carpenter's bench are unknown, when a Hindoo wants to plane his work, he sits on the ground, with his partner opposite to him, steadying the timber with their toes, and both plane together. I have seen two of them working in this manner

on a bit of wood a foot square, with a plane three inches long. Even the blacksmiths sit down to do their work; they dig a hole eighteen inches or two feet deep, in the centre of which they place the anvil, so that they can sit by it with their legs in the hole. A native of India does not get through so much work as an European; but the multitude of hands, and the consequent cheapness of labour, supply the place of the industry of Europe, and in most cases that of its machinery also. I saw the teak main-mast of the Minden, a weight of not less than twenty tons, lifted and moved a considerable distance by the koolis or porters. They carried it in slings fixed to bamboos, which they placed on their heads crosswise, with one arm over the bamboo, and the other on the shoulder of the man immediately before; in front of the whole marched one to guide and to clear the way, for, when they have once begun to move, the weight on the head prevents them from seeing what is before them.

In Bombay there are a good many Banyans, or travelling merchants, who come mostly from Guzerat, and roam about the country with muslins, cotton-cloth, and shawls, to sell. On opening one of their bales, I was surprised to find at least half of its contents of British manufacture, and such articles were much cheaper than those of equal fineness from Bengal and Madrass. Excepting a particular kind of chintz made at Poonah, and painted with gold and silver, there are no fine cotton-cloths made on this side of the peninsula ; yet still it seems strange, that cotton carried to England, manufactured, and retnrned to this conntry, should undersell the fabrics af India, where labour is so cheap. But I believe this is owing partly to the uncertainty and difficulty of carriage here, although the use of machinery at home must be the main cause. The shawls are

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brought here direct from Cashmeer, by the native merchants of that country, so that we sometimes get them cheap and beautiful. The Banyans ought to be Hindoos, though I have known Mussulmans adopt the name, with the profession; their distinguishing turban is so formed as to present the shape of a rhinoceros' horn in front, and it is generally red.

The Borahs are an inferior set of travelling-merchants. The inside of a Borah's box is like that of an Eng lish country shop, spelling-books, prayer-books, lavender-water, eau de luce, soap, tapes, scissars, knives, needles, and thread, make but a small part of the variety it contains. These people are Mussulmans, very poor, and reputed thieves. The profits on their trade must be very small; but the Banyans are often rich, and most of them keep a shop in the bazar, leaving one partner to attend it, while the other goes his rounds, attended by two or three koolis, with their loads on their heads.

It reminds one of the Arabian nights entertainments, to go through the bazar of an evening. The whole fronts of the shops are taken down and converted into benches, on which the goods are disposed, and each shop is lighted with at least two lamps. Here you see grain of every description heaped up in earthen jars; there, sweetmeats of all sorts and shapes, disposed in piles on benches, or hung in festoons about the top and sides of the shop, which is commonly lined with chintz or dyed cotton. Farther on, fruits and vegetables are laid out to the best advantage; then you come to the paung, or betel leaf, nut, and chunam, ready for chewing, or the separate materials: beyond are shops for perfumes, linens, oils, toys, brass, and earthen ware, all set out in order, and the owner sitting bolt upright in the middle of his sweetmeats or grain, waiting for custom. The shops of the schroffs, or bankers, are Jan. 1813.

numerous in the bazar: you see the master sitting in the middle of his money table, surrounded by piles of copper and silver money, with scales for weighing the rupees and other coins presented for change. But it is the barber's shop that is always most crowded, being, particularly at night, the great resort for gossip and news; the barbers themselves seem to enjoy a prescriptive right to be lively, wit ty, and good story-tellers. I have seen some excellent buffoons among them, and a slap given to a bald new shaven pate, in the proper part of a story, has set half a bazar in a roar. The barbers keep every body's holidays,-Hindoos, Jews, Mussulmans, Armenians, Portuguese, and English, and reap a good harvest at each by their comic way of begging.

On first coming here, one would imagine that none of the people ever slept at night; for, besides that the coppersmiths and blacksmiths generally work all night, and sleep all day, on account of the heat, there are processions going about from sunset till sunrise, with tom-toms, (small drums,) kettle-drums, citarrs, vins, pipes, and a kind of large brazen trumpet, which requires two people to carry it, making altogether the most horrible din I ever heard. These processions, with the picturesque dresses of the natives, and their graceful attitudes, the torches carried by children, and the little double pipe blown by boys, whose wildness might make them pass for satyrs, put one strongly in mind of the ancient Bacchanals. It is usually on account of marriages that these nocturnal feasts are held; when they are in honour of a god they take place in the day, when the deity is carried on a litter in triumph, with banners before and behind, and priests carrying flowers, and milk, and rice, while hardly any

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joins the procession without an offering. All this looks very well at a distance, but when one comes near,

one

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