C.

CAABA, the temple or mosque at Mecca, towards which all good Mussulmans turn their faces at the time of prayer. This edifice, or part of it, is attributed to Abraham, and is considered the holiest earthly object of Mahomedan regard. CABOOLEAT, an agreement, particularly that entered into by the Zemindars and farmers with the Government of India, for the management and renting of the land reve

nues.

CABUL, a very ancient and beauti

ful city in the province of Afghanistan. It is situated in a fine plain upon the banks of the Cabul river, in Lat. 34 deg. 10 min. N., Long. 69 deg. 15 min. E. After the subversion of the dynasty of Ghuznee, Cabul became the capital of the country. It has not many buildings of note, the houses being constructed principally of wood, in consequence of the frequency of earthquakes. It had a very fine covered bazar built by Ali Murdan Khan, a celebrated nobleman in the service of the Emperor Juhangeer, but this was destroyed by the English, on their second capture of the city in 1842. On a neck of land at the eastern side of the city, about 150 feet above the plain, stands the Bala Hissar, or upper citadel, the usual residence of the kings. Outside the town is the tomb of the renowned Emperor Baber. Cabul enjoys a remarkably fine climate, and is celebrated for its beautiful gardens, which produce fruits and flowers of all kinds in the greatest abundance. Fruit indeed is more plentiful than bread, and is considered by the people as one of the necessaries of life. Its population before the war with the English was estimated at 60,000. In the mountains, a short distance to the northwestward of Cabul, in Lat. 34 deg. 40 min. N., Long. 66 deg. 57 min. E., is the city of Bameean, the capital

of a small district of the same name, dependent upon Cabul. It consists for the greater part of a multitude of apartments and recesses, cut out of the rock, which are believed to be of great antiquity. Amongst other remarkable objects are two colossal statues, cut in the face of the mountain, about 150 feet in height, and supposed to be ancient idols. There are also some large mounds, or, as they are termed by the natives, topes, constructed of blocks of stone, by some considered to have been the work of the Greeks.

CACHAR, one of the Bengal depen

dencies, in India, bounded on the north by Assam; east, by Cossai; south, by Tippera and Sylhet; and west, by Gentia. It extends about 140 miles from north to south, and 100 miles from east to west. It is composed of two divisions, the northern called Dhurmapoor, and the southern Cachar, separated from each other by a ridge of mountains. Its principal rivers are the Capili and Boorak, both of which rise in the eastern mountains, and flow south-westerly into the Megna. This country is, for the greater part, mountainous, and much overrun with jungle and swamps. In the level parts the soil is fertile, but not well cultivated. Its productions are cotton, silk, wax, timber, limestone, iron ore, and salt, with rice and other grains. The towns are Dhurmapoor, Doodputtie, and Kospoor. The original and correct name of this country was Hairumbo. It has acquired its present denomination of Cachar from the tribe composing its inhabitants, who are called Cacharees, and are part of a numerous tribe scattered over this quarter of Asia, though the name is usually limited to the Cachar principality. They are a robust race, of fairer complexion than the Bengalese, and of Tartar features. The present religion of Cachar is that of the Hindoos, which was introduced in

The

1780. The language is the Bengalee, recently introduced. original Hairumbian dialect has now become extinct. CACTUS. This plant, in all its numerous varieties, grows in great abundance in India. It makes a formidable hedge around the compounds or garden enclosures of houses, and in some of the native towns is used, with bamboos, as a fortification. The milky juice of some kinds of cactus is often used medicinally. CADJAN, a term used by the Europeans in the peninsula of India to denote the leaves of the fan palmyra tree, on which the natives of the south write with an iron style. It likewise applies to a matting made of the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree. CAFFE-GAHA, the coffee tree of Ceylon. It is now one of the most valuable trees in the country, and the growth of it has lately become an object of considerable importance, not only among the natives, but among Europeans, many of whom have large plantations of it in the interior. It grows to about ten or twelve feet high, and is seldom thicker than nine or ten inches. The coffee-berry grows at the root of the leaves, in clusters of four or six. The berry is at first green; it then becomes red, and when ripe is nearly black. It is surrounded by a pulp of a sweetish taste. As soon as plucked, the berries are spread on mats in the sun to dry. When the moisture is quite evaporated, the berry is pounded in a mortar to take off the rough outside. By this process it is separated into two parts, flat on one side and oval on the other, and after being well cleansed and picked, it is put in bags, each containing about sixty pounds weight, and in this state sent to England. CAFILAH, Persian. A caravan. CAFTAN, a quilted or thick outer cloak, worn by the Turks, Persians, and Arab Shieks. CAHAR KA NAUTCH, the dance of the bearer, a favourite pantomimic

dance or movement among the Nautch-girls of India.

CAIQUE, a light bark, much used on the Bosphorus.

CALCUTTA, the capital of India, and the " emporium of the east," is situated on the east side of the western branch of the Ganges, in the province of Bengal, called by Europeans the Hoogly, but by the natives the Bhagiruttee, about a hundred miles from the sea, the whole of which distance is navigable for ships, the river at Calcutta itself being more than a mile in breadth. Calcutta owes its origin entirely to the English. In 1717 it was a petty village of mud huts; it is now a city of palaces. In 1756 Calcutta was besieged and taken from the English by Surajood Dowlut, the nabob of Bengal, on which occasion the English prisoners, to the number of 146, were confined by him in a small room, called the Black Hole, about twenty feet square, where in one night all, except 23, perished from suffocation. The fort, named Fort William, stands about a quarter of a mile below the city. It

was

commenced by Lord Clive, shortly after the battle of Plassey, and is considered the strongest in India. The total population of Calcutta, amongst which are to be found natives of every part of Asia, is estimated at about 550,000 persons. Calcutta is the seat of the supreme Government of British India. CALICUT, on the coast, in Lat. 11 deg. 15 min. N., Long. 75 deg. 50 min. E., was formerly the capital of the province of Malabar. It is also celebrated as being the first place in India at which any European settlement was formed, the Portuguese, under Vasco de Gama, having landed there in 1498. CALIMINDER, the name of a tree, formerly abundant in Ceylon, and used by the inhabitants in the manufacture of furniture. CALIPH, vicegerent, successor, title of the first successors of Mahomed. CALIYUG, the most ancient of the

Indian eras. It dates from a period

which make one divine age or maha (great) yug; 71 maha yugs make 306,720,000 years, to which is added a sandhi (or the time when day and night border on each other, morning and evening twilight), equal to a satya yug, 1,728,000, make a manwantara of 368,448,000 years; fourteen manwantaras make 4,318,272,000 years; to which must be also added a sandhi to begin the calpa, 1,728,000 years, make the calpa or grand period of 4,320,000,000 years. Extraordinary as this jargon may appear, it is no fanciful fiction, but founded upon an actual astronomical calculation. The Hindoos calculate from the commencement of the present Cali yug, which took place in the 906th year of the world. Their date, to correspond with the year of our Lord 1832, or that of the world 5839, will be about 4933 of the Kali yug. The Hindoos have various other eras: those most commonly current are, the Saka, and the Sambat. The former is computed from the supposed birth of Salivahana, King of Pratishthana, in Southern India, in the year of the Kali yug 3179, which makes it seventy-eight years after the birth of Christ. The Sambat year numbers the luna solar years in the same manner as the Saka does the solar years. It is computed from the reign of Vikramaditya, King of Oujein, which

E

began fifty-seven years before the birth of Christ.

CAMBAY is a sea-port, situated at the head of the Gulf of Cambay, in Lat. 22 deg. 21 min. N., Long. 72 deg. 48 min. E. It is an ancient town, and was formerly of considerable commercial importance. The silversmiths at this place are still noted for their skill in embossing. CANDAHAR. This town is in the province of Afghanistan, in Lat. 36 deg. 11 min. N., Long. 66 deg. 28 min. E. It is believed that this place was founded by Alexander the Great, and has always, from its position near the frontiers of Persia, been a place of considerable importance. The original city was destroyed by Nadir Shah, and the present town was built in 1753, by Ahmed Shah, who made it his capital. It contains about 100,000 inhabitants, of whom a large proportion are Dooranee Afghans. Sir William Nott, with a British force, held possession of the town against the Afghan kurds in

1841.

CANDEISH, a province of the Deccan in India, bounded on the north by Guzerat and Malwa; east, Gendwana aud Berar; south, Berar and Aurungabad; west, Aurungabad and Guzerat. This province may be considered as consisting of three divisions: British, Candeish, Holkar, and Scindia. The British portion comprises the whole of Candeish Proper, and occupies the western part of the province from north to south. Holkar's portion occupies a small space in the centre, and Scindia's, a tract along the eastern side. The rivers are the Nerbudda, Tuptee, Poorna, and others. The province in general is hilly, and traversed centrally, and along its eastern, southern, and western sides, by ranges of mountains. It is, however, for the greatest part remarkably fertile, and copiously watered, and until the commencement of the present century well cultivated and thickly peopled. In 1802 it was ravaged

by the Holkar Mahrattas, and the year following it was nearly depopulated by a severe famine. From this period it rapidly declined; oppressed by a rapacious government, and continually devastated by Bheels and Pindarees, it was rendered almost a desert, and when entered by the British, in 1818, the larger portion of the province was found to be overspread with jungle, and abandoned, without inhabitants, to the wild beasts. A long period of time will probably be required ere this territory can be restored to its original prosperity. This province is capable of producing in abundance every thing found in the adjoining countries. Its fruits and vegetables are excellent, particularly grapes, which are considered the finest in India. Amongst the wild animals, tigers and wolves are very numerous and troublesome. The towns are, in British Candeish, Nunderbar, Sindwa, Dowlea, Chopra, Jamneer, Malligaum, and Chundoor; in Holkar's districts, Kurgoon and Bejagur; in Scindia's, Hoshungabad, Hindia, Hurdwa, Chorwa, Asseergurh, and Boorhampore. The inhabitants are Mahrattas, a small proportion of Mahomedans, including those of the Bora class, and Bheels, of which tribe this province may be considered the original country. The Bheels are found in all the hilly and wooded districts, from Malwa to Bejapoor, and from the eastern parts of Guzerat to Gondwana. They are a distinct people from the Hindoos, and are supposed to form part of the original inhabitants of central India. In person they are generally small and black, of wild appearance, going nearly naked, and constantly armed with bow and arrow. They are divided into a number of tribes, each under its own naik, or chief. They are generally averse to agriculture, and addicted to hunting and plunder; but, being now subject to a more regular control, they will probably acquire more civilised habits. The religion is Hindoo

ism and Mahomedanism. The prevailing language is the Mahrattee. In the Hoshungabad district the Gondee is commonly spoken. CANIATCHY, or, by mistake, CALIATCHY, a term used in Malabar, signifying landed inheritance, or property. CANNANORE is situated on the Malabar coast, in Lat. 11 deg. 42 min. N., Long. 75 deg. 27 min. E. This town, with a small surrounding district, in the province of Malabar, was formerly under the government of a bebee or princess, whose descendant still retains the title, and resides in her palace, under the protection of the English. Her ancestor, a chief of the Maplais, purchased the estate from the Dutch. It was subsequently seized by Hyder Ali, and in 1799 annexed to the British dominions adequate pension being settled upon the bebee. The Portuguese had a factory at this place in 1505. CANONGOE, an officer of the Peninsular government, whose duty is to keep a register of all circumstances relating to the land revenue, and when called upon, to declare the customs of each district, the nature of the tenures, the quantity of land in cultivation, the nature of the produce, the amount of rent paid, &c.

; an

CANTON is the largest sea-port town in China, and the only one to which Europeans were formerly permitted to resort. It is situated on the banks of the river Quantung, or Pekiang, in Lat. 32 deg. 4 min. N., Long. 118 deg. 4 min. E., and has, besides the suburbs on shore, a large floating town upon the river, containing altogether nearly a million and a half of inhabitants. There are factories in the suburbs established by England and America, and by most of the European powers. No foreigners are permitted to enter the city itself, but are restricted to the suburbs. The Russians are excluded from the sea-ports, because a land trade is carried on with them on the

frontiers of Siberia. About eighty miles below Canton, on a small peninsula near the mouth of the river, the entrance of which is called by Europeans the Bocca Tigris, stands the town of Macao, belonging to the Portuguese, who were permitted to form this settlement in 1586, by the Emperor of China, in reward for services rendered by them in expelling some pirates. Until 1842 it was the only European settlement in the Chinese empire, and is under strict supervision, being in reality governed by a mandarin. No foreign females are allowed to pass beyond Macao, where European ships are consequently obliged to land any who may be on board, before they can proceed up the river. A short distance from Macao is the small island of Hong Kong, which was finally ceded to the English in 1842, and is now an English settlement.

CAPIDGI, Persian and Turkish. A porter or door-keeper; a chamberlain. The Capidgi-Bashee are a higher class of officers, and exclusively employed to use the bowstring.

CAPITAN PASHA, the Turkish High Admiral.

CARABOYS, great bottles for rosewater, Persian wines, &c. CARLEE, a village on the road from Bombay to Poona, in the Deccan, which gives its name to a remarkable cavern, hewn on the face of a precipice, about two-thirds up the sides of a steep hill, rising, with a very scarped and regular talus, to the height of probably 800 feet above the plain. The excavations consist, besides the principal temple, of many smaller apartments and galleries, in two stories, some of them ornamented with great beauty. A mean and ruinous temple of Siva serves as a sort of gateway to the cave; a similar building stands on the right hand of its portico. Within the portico are colossal figures in alto relievo of elephants, bestridden by mahouts, and mounted with howdahs. There

are a number of columns within the cave, with capitals resembling bells, finely carved, and surmounted each by two elephants with their trunks entwined, and each carrying figures of byragees or ascetics. CARNATIC, CENTRAL or MIDDLE. This Indian province is bounded on the north by the Ceded Districts and the river Pennar; east, by the sea; south, by the Coleroon; west, by Salem, Baramahal, and Mysore. Its principal districts are, part of Nellore, Venkatagherry, Kolastree, Chandgherry, Chittoor, Madras, Arcot, Chinglepet or the Jageer, Cuddalore, and part of Trichinopoly. The chief rivers are the Pennar, Palar, and Panar, besides many smaller streams. This province is, in general, level and open, gradually rising from the coast to the eastern mountains; broken in different directions by ridges and clusters of rocky jungly hills. It is well watered by rivers and large tanks, and is considered fertile. The productions are rice, raggy, gram, and other dry grains; indigo, and salt. Iron is abundant, and is manufactured into steel of very superior quality, at Porto Novo. Copper is also found in the neighbourhood of Kolastree. The principal towns are Kolastree, Chandgherry, Pulicat, Chittoor, Madras, Amboor, Vellore, Arcot, Congeveram, Chinglepet, Arnee, Vandiwash, Sadras, Trinomally, Gingee, Pondicherry, Trincaloor, Cuddalore, and Chillumbrum. In ancient times this province formed part of the Hindoo sovereignty of the Karnatak Desum; the various petty principalities which it comprised being all nominally subject to it. The prevailing languages of the Hindoo population of this province are, in the northern and western districts, Teloogoo, and in the southern, Tamil. CARNATIC, NORTHERN. This Indian province is bounded on the north by the small river Gundigama, which separates it from the Guntoor district of the Northern Circars; east,