son the mountain is enveloped in a thick fog, and the winter months are extremely cold, but by no means unhealthy. The roads of the cantonment are excellent. LASCAR, a European term for certain descriptions of menials in India. Sailors (ship-keepers) employed in harbour, tent-pitchers, the people employed to do the dirty work of the artillery and the arsenals, &c., are called lascars. The term is derived from lushkur, literally, an army man. LASSA, the capital of the country of Thibet, and the residence of the dalai, or grand lama, situated in Lat. 29 deg. 30 min. N., Long. 91 deg. 6 min. E. LATEO, a species of club, though rather long in proportion to its thickness, in comparison of weapons so called in England. They are in constant use among Indian villagers, and, like the Irish shillelah, are the usual implements in rustic battles. LEBADA (from "libd," a quilt, in Arabic or Hebrew), a loose cloak made of common chintz, and quilted with cotton; much worn by the natives of Upper India. LEH, or LAH, the capital of Lahdack. a division of the country of Thibet, situated on a branch of the river Indus, here called the Lahdack river, in Lat. 34 deg. 10 min. N., and about Long. 78 deg. 20 min. E. It is the residence of the rajah of Lahdack, and is a place of considerable trade, being a principal mart for the shawl wool of Thibet. In the neighbouring district is a breed of remarkably small sheep, not larger than lambs in India of six months old, but covered with a very large and fine fleece. LICHI (Neechee Phol). The Lichi, or Leechee, as it is sometimes written, is a purely Chinese fruit, for it bears no other name but its Chinese one in any part of the world. Like most foreign fruits it has much degenerated in India, from the utter want of culture, and by propagation from seed only; the natives, except a few gardeners about the large towns, being wholly ignorant of grafting, and too indifferent to practise it, or to give a young plant the care and attention necessary to produce a fine fruit-bearing tree. Hence, with the exception of some from the Botanic Garden, Calcutta, the majority of the Lichis in India are of a most inferior description, and not to be compared with those of China, Batavia, the Mauritius, and Bourbon. It is, moreover, in and about Calcutta a very capricious fruit tree as to its bearing, the crop being very subject to failure from various causes; and even when the fruit is ripening the trees must be covered with netting to prevent the fruit being destroyed by the rapacious crows, which, with the squirrels, are the great enemies of all fruitgardening in Lower India, as the monkeys are in other parts of it. While the Lichi lasts, however, and its duration is but for about a month in any perfection, it is a rich addition to the dessert, and to the breakfast table. The Chinese dry it in ovens, and in the sun, and it is thus exported in considerable quantities; but in this state it is little sought after in India. The juice of the fruit is perfectly wholesome. countries where the Lichi abounds, and from its sweetness and rich flavour it is greedily eaten by children, deaths from indigestion and obstructions brought on by this cause are so common, when the fruit is in season, that in slave colonies the fruit is often broken from the trees when green, to avoid this danger to the children and young negroes. The Lichi tree is very hardy and will bear cold, heat, excessive rains, and even inundation for weeks, without apparent suffering, though doubtless the fruit is affected in quantity or quality by these trials. LINGA. The Linga is the mythologic symbol of the regenerator Siva, synonymous with, but divested of In plunder; a name given to the Pindarras, who were great plunderers. the gross appearance of the Phallic | LOOTERA, from loot (Hindostanee), emblem of the Greeks, worshipped by the Saivas. Of the origin of the mystic worship of the Linga and the Yoni (q. v.), little appears to be understood. It may be presumed to have been nature, under the male and female forms, personified; as Siva, the sun (which he is, equally with Surya) or fire, the genial heat which pervades, generates, and vivifies all; and Bhavani, who as the goddess of nature is also the earth, the universal mother. These two active principles of life having been thus personified, may have been subsequently converted by the grossness of idolatry (which, in its progress, invariably seeks rather to gratify the sensual appetites than to instruct the minds of its votaries) from imaginary forms to realities; from the personified symbols of nature, to typical representations of the procreative powers of these symbols themselves. LOGUE, a Hindoo word meaning about 400 miles from the coast of LOODIANA. See FEROZEPORE. silks, interwoven with cotton, of the LOOTAH, a brass water vessel; of which there are various sizes, from a pint to half a gallon. LOQUAT (Mespilus Japonica). As a pretty and almost a picturesque fruit and tree, the loquat may rank very high, for the dark green foliage of the tree, and, twice in the year, the rich perfume of the flower, which render it a great addition to the garden, and equally so to the dessert, when served with a few of their leaves. Of the properties of the fruit there is but little to say, being almost what the French would call un fruit insignifiant in India, though much prized in its native countries of China and Japan, where it grows to a much larger size, and has a far richer flavour than in India, or even in the Eastern Islands; in all of which countries the climate seems too warm and moist for it, while in Northern India, though it may there have the winter which it evidently requires, it has not the same degree of moisture; the winters of China and Japan being, as compared with those of India, wet winters. Amongst the natives of India it does not seem to be a fruit much thought of or prized, not being common in their gardens at any distance from large towns, and probably not being sufficiently high flavoured. Amongst the Europeans there also it is nearly neglected, and when it appears, may be said to be rather tasted as a novelty than eaten as a favourite fruit. Amongst the Chinese and Dutch in the Eastern Islands it is, however, much more prized, and the culture of the tree much attended to. Presents of fine sorts are frequently interchanged, and from the gardens of some of the wealthy Chinese, and Malay-Chinese, Portuguese, and Dutch families of the olden times, who are all capital horticulturists, and have, in the great Chinese population of those countries, excellent gardeners, the fruit is really a delicious one. LOTUS, the India water-lily, a large and handsome aquatic plant which, rising from a cluster of broad leaves lying flat upon the surface of the water, presents a very beautiful appearance. The lotus is considered so entirely emblematic of India, that in all allegorical pictures it is invariably used, and is besides constantly found in mythological sculptures and pictorial subjects. LOUNDIES, servant maids, usually attendant on ladies of rank and respectability in the peninsula of India. They are often children of old dependents, formerly slaves, and sometimes wives of Kahers, or bearers. LUBBURREEA, a commander of a "lubbur," or grand division of a horde of Pindarras. LUCNOW, a city in India, the capital of the province of Oude, situated on the south side of the river Goomtee, in Lat. 26 deg. 51 min. N., Long. 80 deg. 50 min. E. It is a large and populous town, divided into three distinct quarters. The first, consisting of the old native city, is extensive but meanly built, and very dirty ; the second, containing the king's palace and the residence of the court, is of modern origin, and the houses are for the most part in a mixed style of European and Eastern architecture; the third consists chiefly of palaces and religious edifices, erected by the former nabobs. LUGGAO, to make fast. The word is used on board the budgerows and other boats on the Ganges, and signifies casting anchor, or making the boat fast to some object on the river's banks. The word is likewise employed to instruct a person to tie or bind up. LUGGIES, bamboo poles, from twenty to fifty feet in length. LUKPUT BUNDER, a town in India, in the province of Cutch, situated on the bank of the river Lonee, in Lat. 23 deg. 47 min. N., Long. 68 deg. 56 min. E., thirty-eight miles to the north of Bhooj. M. MAAFEE, Hindostanee. Literally, exempted, privileged, or revenueexempted lands, exempted on the authority of the nazim or the zumeendar. MAAS, Persian. Curds expressed from the milk or butter-milk dried in the sun, and thus preserved. Broken into small pieces and mixed with water they form a pleasant acidulous beverage. MADRAS, a city in India, in the province of Central or Middle Carnatie, the capital of the British Government, a large and populous town with a strong fort, situated on the sea-coast, in Lat. 13 deg. 5 min. N., Long. 80 min. 21 deg. E. This town was founded in 1636, in which year the English obtained the grant of a piece of ground, for the erection of a town and fort, from the rajah of Chandgherry, Sree-rung-Rayeel. The rajah desired that the new town should be named after himself, Sreerunga-raya-Puttun; but the naik, or governor of the district, ordered the English to give it the name of his own father, Chinnapun, and it was accordingly called Chinna-Puttun. Madras was the name of the village which existed before the present town was founded, and this name has been continued by the English to the town, the fort being denominated Fort St. George. Madras soon became a flourishing city, and the chief station of the English on the Coromandel coast. In 1702 it was besieged by Daood Khan, one of Aurungzebe's generals, who notified that he had orders to take the fort, and entirely destroy it. However, he was defeated, though the fort was then a very weak place, with only a few soldiers to defend it. In 1744, it was besieged and taken by the French, who kept it until 1749, when peace was made, and the place was restored to the English. In 1758, it was again besieged by the French, under the celebrated Lally, who was obliged to retreat, after a siege of two months. Since that time Madras has never been besieged by an enemy; though, in 1769, it was threatened by Hyder Ali, who encamped his army within a few miles of the fort, and forced the English to make a treaty with him. In the quarter called Triplicane, or Tiroomul-kheree, a little to the south of the fort, is the residence of the nominal nabob of Arcot, the descendant of the former Mahomedan rulers of the Carnatic. Near Triplicane, on the sea-side, is the small town of Mylapore, or St. Thome, the latter being the name given to it by the Portuguese, who captured the place and formed a settlement there in the year 1547. Eight miles southward from the fort is the Mount, the principal station of the Madras Artillery. At this place is an old Romanist chapel, built by the Portuguese, upon the summit of a rocky hill, from which it has its name of St. Thomas's Mount. By the natives it is usually called Furingee Konda, or Furingee Mulye. Two miles from the Mount, towards Madras, is the Little Mount, a low rocky hill, on which stand the remains of an old Portuguese convent. The road here crosses the Adyar river, over which is a narrow bridge of twenty-nine small arches, 1230 feet long, called the Marmalong Bridge. It was built by an Armenian gentleman of Madras. The total population of Madras is estimated at 450,000, including about 30,000 Mahomedans. MADRISSA, a college. The word is derived from the Arabic, and applied to colleges where the Oriental languages only are taught. MADURA, a city in India, the capi tal of the district of Madura, in the province of Southern Carnatic, situated in Lat. 9 deg. 55 min. N., Long. 78 deg. 14 min. E. This is a city of considerable antiquity, and con tains the remains of many magnificent edifices, comprising some of the most extraordinary specimens of Hindoo architecture now extant, particularly the ancient palace of the rajahs. It has a pagoda covering an extent of ground almost sufficient for the site of a town, in front of which is a celebrated choultry, called Tiroomul Naik's, 312 feet in length, and covered with grotesque sculptures. Near the town is a remarkable eminence, called, from its shape, the Elephant Rock. There was formerly at Madura, a college, called by the natives Maha Sunkum. MAHA, the Ganges stag, the cervus elaphoides of Hodgson, the bahrauja of the Eastern, and the maha of the Western Tarai. MAHABHARATA, an epic poem in the Sanscrit language, forming part of the Vedas. It describes the most important events in the early history of India. MAHABULESHWAR, a range of hills in Western India. The hot season, with its early, blazing sunrisings, its still, burning noons, and its breezeless, oppressive evenings, could scarcely be endured in India, by those who have passed many years of their life in its wasting climate, were it not for the invigorating replenishment of the system, afforded by an annual visit to "the hills," as they are emphatically called. While the Bengalees boast the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, the Madrasees, their Neilgherries, with its sociality and sport, the Bombay people are justly proud of the beautiful range of the Mahabuleshwar, whose climate and scenery render the station formed there one of the most interesting as well as one of the most sanitary localities in West. ern India. The bungalows on the Mahabuleshwar are built irregularly on such points of the hills as present the most agreeable views. They are small, and have thatched roofs, presenting a very rustic and châlet-like appearance; but as health rather than luxury, exercise rather than etiquette, form the object of visitors to the Mahabuleshwar, the wealthy civilian, or the rich commandant, who leaves his splendidly furnished bungalow, and his handsome carriages, in the lowland station, is satisfied with the simple accommodation of a sleeping apartment surrounded with reeds and calico, a dining-room in which a good appetite is the chief luxury, and an open verandah commanding an uninterrupted view of the magnificent scenery around; while a strong Pegue pony, for neighbouring excursions, is more prized than the most valuable Arab, whose services would be found useless among the steep rocky passages of these Ghauts. In addition to the bungalows, whose rent is rather proportioned to the demand for them than to the accommodation they afford, invalids have the advantage of rooms in the Sanitarium, for which they pay nothing. In the month of October, particularly, fires are in constant requisition on the hills; and this enjoyment, which in the East brings somewhat of an European air to the hearth, affords a species of gratification, which mere logs, some of them too uncomfortably green and smoking, from rather illcontrived chimneys, would be scarcely thought capable of producing. There is also another effect of climate found productive of much satisfaction to the hill visitors, simply, for the same reasons of association; this is derived from the fogs, which envelop the mountains about sunset during the autumn months, and, disagreeable enough in themselves, remind the residents of an English November, and are prized accordingly, even by persons who, if really in their native country, breakfasting by lamp-light, would grumble over the dark days of "Merry England.' A very curious effect also on the Mahabuleshwar Hills is caused by the passing of light vapours and fleecy clouds across particular portions of the mountains. The doors of the bungalows usually face each other, and it is not uncommon for a cloud to enter at one, obscure the room, and pass out at the other, leaving the atmosphere as clear as before its entrance. The excursions to be enjoyed about the Mahabuleshwar Hills, even to those not caring for the sport afforded in the dense forests clothing the mountain sides, and which abound in beasts of prey and of the chase, are numerous and beautiful; many of the roads have been made at the charge of the British government, but others, which lead perhaps to the most lovely spots, are rugged and broken, mere stony footpaths, crossed occasionally by a brawling mountain-stream, to which troops of unwieldy, stupid-looking buffaloes, stroll to quench their thirst. This fact, indeed, occasions the only disagreeable or dangerous circumstance connected with free rambles on the hills; for although these animals are tame, and the property of shepherds, they are suffered to stroll about the woods untended, which produces a degree of wild shyness, and it sometimes happens that, if suddenly alarmed by a horseman or foot-passenger, when they cannot avoid imagined danger, by crashing through the brushwood, the animals will charge in a body, which, when a rambler is unarmed, on a Pegue pony, and a slippery path, places him in rather an unenviable position. However, the chance of such a rencontre with the long-nosed and indigo-coloured animals who entertain these mistaken ideas of one's objects, is too rare to interfere with the stroller who desires to penetrate the tangled thickets of this most lovely region, while the annoyance, and even danger, will weigh little against the certain gratification to be gained. There is an interesting spot within the reach of the hill cantonment where the rises |