which case the interpretation rests with the most powerful. Thus orders sent to police-officers, to the effect of persuading people to certain ends, occasionally lead to unexpected results, as may be imagined. SUNDA ISLANDS, in Asia. The Sunda Islands, or Sumatran chain, form the southern and western line of the Eastern Archipelago, comprehending Timor, Floris, Java, and Sumatra, with some smaller islands. SUNNUD, Hindostanee. A prop, or support; a patent, charter, or written authority, renewable from year to year, and if not renewed the title ceases.

SUNNYASSEE, a Hindoo devotee, or fakeer.

SUPERNA. See GARUda. SURASWATI, the goddess of learning, music, and poetry, is the wife of Brahma. She is also called Brahmi, or Brahmini, the goddess of the sciences; and Bharadi, the goddess of history. She is sometimes seen as a white woman standing on a lotus, or water-lily, holding a lute (or vina) in her hand, to show that she is also the goddess of music; at others, riding on a peacock, with the same emblem in her hand. Although the worship of Brahma has fallen into disuse, the annual festival of Suraswati, in the month Maghee, is highly honoured. On that day she is worshipped with offerings of perfumes, flowers, and rice; and the Hindoos abstain from either reading or writing, as they ascribe the power of doing both to be derived from this goddess. Offerings are also made to her in expiation of the sin of lying, or of having given false evidence. SURAT, or SOORUT, a city in India, in the province of Guzerat, situated on the south bank of the river Tuptee, about twenty miles from its junction with the sea, in Lat. 21 deg. 11 min. N., Long. 73 deg. 7 min. E. This is one of the most ancient cities of Hindostan, being mentioned in the Ramayana. After the discovery of the passage to India, by way of the

Cape of Good Hope, Surat became the principal resort of European trading vessels. Factories were established by the different European nations, and its population is said to have increased to 800,000 persons. In latter times the trade of Surat has much declined; other ports having risen into notice, and its manufactures not now being in so much request. It is now the capital of Guzerat, and the residence of the principal British authorities in the province. The town is large, but ugly and badly built, and contains about 180,000 inhabitants.

SURROW, a deer of the Himalayas, about three feet and a half in height at full growth. He is of dark hue, with short deflected horns, thickly built, and with coarse bristling hair, much like the wild hog. His head and shoulders resemble a donkey ornamented with a horse's mane and goat's horns. This scarce and singular beast has a spirit in proportion to his deformity.

SURYA. This deity, a member of the Hindoo mythology, was the son of Kasyapa and Aditi, and from his mother is called Aditya. He is pictured of a deep golden complexion, with his head encircled by golden rays of glory. He has sometimes four, and at others two arms, holding a lotus in one of his hands and sometimes the chukra or wheel in another; standing or sitting on a lotus pedestal, or seated in his splendid car with one wheel, drawn by a sevenheaded horse of an emerald colour, or" the seven coursers green" of the sun. Surya is the personification of the sun, the orb of light and heat; but the omnipotent sun, the creator of all things, the god of the universe, is Brahm; typified among the first idolaters by the visible sun, and by the Hindoos by their three principal deities, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, personifications of his attributes, creation, preservation, and destruction. But Surya, as the type also of the deity, is likewise that of his

attributes. Thus, in the east, morning, he is Brahma, creation; at noon, Vishnu, preservation; in the west, evening, Siva, destruction. We shall, therefore, have little occasion for surprise at the great veneration in which this deity is held by all classes of the Hindoos. The Aswinikumara, the twins of the Hindoo zodiac, are called the children of Suraya, from Aswini, a form of Parvati in the shape of a mare, into whose nostrils Surya breathed, and thus impregnated her with sunbeams, and gave birth to the Aswini. Suraya is, by some writers, called the regent of the south-west. He presides over Adit-war, or Sunday (from Adit, the first, and War, day.) Suraya has various names. In the Gayatri he is called Savitri, as the symbol of the splendour of the supreme ruler, or the creator of the universe.

SUTLEJ, or SUTLEDGE, the, a river

in India, which issues from two lakes on the north side of the Himalaya mountains, in about Lat. 31 deg. 46 min. N., Long. 80 deg. 43 min. E.; passes along the eastern side of Lahore, and through Mooltan, and falls into the Chenab river, a short distance to the northward of Ooch, after a course of between four and five hundred miles. SUTTEE, female immolation on the funeral pile of a deceased husband. Although the Shastras recommend, and contain regulations for the practice of the rite, the sacred ordinances not only do not expressly, as some have supposed, enjoin it, but distinctly point out in what manner a woman, after the decease of her husband, shall be taken care of; and leave it optional with her, either to burn herself, or live a future life of chastity and respectability. If, they say, after marriage her (the woman's) husband shall die, her husband's relations; or, in default thereof, her father's; or, if there be none of either, the magistrate, shall take care of her; and, in every stage of life, if

the person who has been allotted to take care of a woman, and do not take care of her, each in his respective stage, the magistrate shall fine them. The ordinance, nevertheless adds, that it is proper for a woman to burn herself with the corpse of her husband; in which case she will live with him in Paradise three crore and fifty lacs, or thirtyfive millions of years. If she cannot burn, she must observe an inviolable chastity. If she remain always chaste, she will go to Paradise; if not, she will go to hell. Immediate beatitude, an almost immortal life in heavens of ineffable delight, and other enjoyments whose gross sensualities are concealed by the dazzling brilliancy of Oriental colouring, are among the irresistible charms which are held forth to enthral the mind, and lead the victim of marital selfishness, too often, to become a suttee. In short, it is averred, that the gods themselves reverence and obey the mandates of a woman who becomes one. There is, besides these, another powerful motive which operates in conjunction with them. Among the Hindoos a woman, after the decease of her husband, loses entirely her consequence in his family, and is degraded to a situation little above that of a menial. She is told that if she become a suttee, she will not only escape from that life of assured debasement and contempt, but will ascend to a state as pre-eminently exalted; and will thus (whatever the crimes of the parties may have been) save both her own soul and the souls of her husband and her husband's family from purgatory and future transmigration. The practice of selfimmolation has been entirely suppressed in British India, but it obtains in several of the native independent states.

SYCE, an Indian groom. He does what his translated name denotes, but in a way very different from his English namesake. Smart and vigorous grooming are unknown in India:

and judging from the fair condition of the horses, would not appear to be needed. The syce, moreover, runs behind the horse, or vehicle, as the case may be, and will keep up with the latter for miles, without any apparent effort, as also with a horse going at an easy canter. He is a good, and generally a trustworthy servant. SYGWAM, teak. The best timber for building in whatever branch, but its dearness prevents its general use, especially since naval architecture has been so much an object of speculation at Calcutta. Those who build houses of the first class, rarely fail to build all their terraces upon teak joists; both because they possess superior strength, and that they are far less likely to be attacked by the white ants. This has been attributed to the quantity of tannin contained in teak wood, which some have asserted to be a perfect preventive or antidote. There is in teak wood evidently some property, hitherto occult, that repels the white ant, at least for some years, but which is doubtless diminished by exposure to the air, as we find that very old teak timbers become rather more subject to depredation than new ones. The greater part of the teak used in Bengal and at Madras, is imported from the Pegu coast, in immense beams, and in spars, planks, &c., of all sizes. It is by no means unusual to see the squared timbers measuring from forty to fifty feet in length, and averaging from fifteen to twenty inches in diameter. SYRANG, a boatswain. The vessels

which trade from India to China, and from port to port in India, are commanded and officered by Europeans and Eurasians, but the crew and petty-officers are natives, generally called Lascars (Lustakurs). The native terms for the petty officers are invariably used instead of their corresponding English designations. SYUDS, descendants of the prophet Mahomet, and therefore considered to partake of his sanctity.

T.

TABEEJES, silver cases, enclosing either quotations from the Koran, or some mystical writings, or some rubbish from the animal or vegetable kingdom, worn by the Hindostanee women, strung upon an assemblage of black threads, passing round their necks, and reaching to their middles. Whatever the contents may be, great reliance is placed on their efficacy in repelling disease, and in averting the influence of witchcraft (j'haddoo), of which the people of India, of every sect, entertain the most unlimited dread. Hence, it is not uncommon to see half-a-dozen, or more, of these charms strung upon the same threads. The upper parts of the arms are adorned with semi-circular ornaments, made hollow, but filled up with melted rosin; the ends are furnished with loops of the same metal, generally silver, which admit silken skeins, whereby they are secured to their places. The above trinket is called a Banjoo-bund. TAJIKS, a tribe of Tartars, of Persian origin, chiefly occupied in commerce and agriculture.

TAJ MEHAL, a magnificent tomb, constructed at Agra (in India) at the instance of the Mogul Emperor, Shah Jehan, in commemoration of his beautiful queen, Noor Jehan, the Light of the World. The building was designed by Austin de Bordeux, a Frenchman of great talent and merit, in whom the emperor placed great reliance. It cost 3,174,8027., and occupied 20,000 labourers and architects for twenty

two years. The building stands upon the north side of a large quadrangle, looking down into the clear blue stream of the river Jumna, while the other three sides are inclosed with a high wall of red sandstone. The entrance to this qua

drangle is through a magnificent gateway in the south side opposite the tomb, and on the other two sides are very beautiful mosques facing inwards, and corresponding exactly with each other in size, design, and execution. That on the left or west side is the only one that can be used as a place of worship, because the faces of the audience and those of all Mahomedans, at their prayers, must be turned towards the tomb of their prophet to the west. The mosque on the east side was, therefore, built merely as a companion to the other. The whole area is laid out in square parterres, planted with flowers and shrubs in the centre, chiefly the cypress, all round the borders, forming an avenue to every road. These roads, or paths, are all paved with slabs of freestone, and have, running along the centre, a basin, with a row of jets d'eau in the middle, from one extremity to the other. The quadrangle is from east to west 964 feet, and from north to south 329. The mausoleum itself, the terrace upon which it stands, and the minarets, are all formed of the finest white marble inlaid with precious stones. The wall around the quadrangle, including the river face of the terrace, is made of red sandstone, with cupolas and pillars of the same white marble. The inside of the mosques and apartments in and upon the walls are all lined with marble or with stone work that looks like marble; but on the outside the red sandstone resembles uncovered bricks. The dazzling white marble of the mausoleum was brought from the Jeypore territories, a distance of 300 miles, upon wheeled carriages. What was figuratively said of Augustus may be literally said of Shah Jehan: he found cities all brick, and left them all marble. The emperor and his queen lie buried side by side, in a vault beneath the building, to which access is obtained by a flight of steps. Their remains are covered

by two slabs of marble, and directly over these slabs, upon the floor above, in the great centre room under the dome, stand two other slabs or cenotaphs of the same marble, exquisitely worked in mosaic. Upon that of the queen, amid wreaths of flowers, are worked in black letters, passages from the Koran. Upon the slab over the emperor there are none-merely a mosaic wall of flowers and the date of his death. The cause of the difference is that Shah Jehan had himself designed the slab over his wife, and saw no harm in inscribing the words of God upon it; whereas, the slab over himself was designed by his more pious son Aurungzebe, who did not think it right to place there "holy words" upon a stone which the foot of man might some day touch. Noor Jehan, the Light of the World, or, as the inscription on her tomb calls her, Ranoo Begum, the ornament of the palace, died in 1631; her husband in 1666. She died in giving birth to a daughter, and on her death-bed made two requests, first, that Shah Jehan would not marry again after her death, and get children to contend with hers for his favour and dominions; and secondly, that he would build for her the tomb with which he had promised to perpetuate her name. Both her dying requests were granted. Her tomb was commenced upon immediately. No woman ever pretended to supply her place in the palace, nor had Shah Jehan children by any other.

TALC (mica) may be obtained in almost any quantity, at the several cities in India, especially towards the frontiers, very extensive dealings being carried on in this article, by persons resident chiefly at Lucknow, Benares, and Patna, who import it from Thibet, and the countries on the north of the Punjab, or Sikh territory, in masses, often as large as a quartern loaf. A seer of talc, that splits well, will sometimes yield a dozen or more panes, of about

twelve inches by nine, or of ten by ten; and thus, according to the form of the lump, which can only be split in the direction of the laminæ. These panes are so far diaphanous, as to allow ordinary objects to be seen at about twenty or thirty yards tolerably distinct, and, of course, present an excellent substitute for glass. Talc supplies the material for numberless brilliant illusions; the splendid tazees, carried about at the Mohurrum, are chiefly composed of the shining and transparent plates of this mineral, which may be cut into any shape, and made to assume all the colours of the rainbow. When illuminated by the profusion of lamps which are always brought in aid of any midnight exhibition, the effect is perfectly magical. TAL-IPOT, or TALPAT, a tree common in the island of Ceylon, and on the coasts of Malabar and Coromonde. It grows very straight and lofty, from eighty to 100 feet, and has a large tuft of immense leaves at the top. The wood is seldom put to any other use than that of rafters for buildings. Near the root of the tree the wood is black, very hard, and veined with yellow, but the inside is nothing more than pith, for the sake of which it is sometimes cut down, as the natives make use of it for food, beating it in a mortar till it becomes like flour, when they mix it with water for dough, and bake it. It bears no fruit till the last year of its life. When the flower, which is incased in a sheath (like that of the cocoa-nut), is ripe, the sheath bursts with a loud noise, and emits a smell that is so disagreeable, that the people sometimes cut it down, not being able to live near it. The fruit is round, and about the size of an apple. It contains two nuts. The most curious and useful part of this tree are its leaves. These hang down from the top, and are nearly circular, and very large, one of them being sufficient to cover fifteen or twenty

men.

The leaf folds up in plaits, like a fan, and is cut into triangular pieces, which are used everywhere as umbrellas, for protection against the sun or rain. Every man of consequence among the natives of Ceylon has a talpat-bearer, to keep off the rain or sun. The leaf, in strips, is used in schools, to teach children to write upon, and as every letter is cut into it by a sharp-pointed style, the writing is indelible, and continues legible as long as the leaf itself lasts. The tents of the Kandian kings and others, in time of war, were made of these leaves, and hence were called tal-gé, tal-pat houses. They used to carry with them great quantities of these leaves, already prepared, and cut into proper shape, and thus the labour of erecting a tent was very small. They are also used to cover carts, palankeens, or any thing that it is necessary to keep from the sun or rain in travelling.

TALLIAR, a guard or watchman. A village police officer in the peninsula of India, who gives information of crimes and offences, and escorts and protects persons travelling to neighbouring villages.

TALOOK, the being dependent, dependence, a dependency. A district in India, the revenues of which are under the management of a Talookdar (q. v.), and are generally accounted for to the Zemindar within whose jurisdiction it happens to be included; but sometimes paid immediately to govern

ment.

TAMIL, or TAMUL, an ancient language of Southern India, which appears to have been the original source of the Malayalim, Kanarese, Teloogoo, Mahrattee, and Ooreea. It has since, together with other dialects, received a large admixture of Sanscrit. It is spoken in the island of Ceylon. TAMULIANS, inhabitants of all the eastern coast from Battakalo, north