examine some of the bodies, and see if they were all really dead, and if not, that he might restore them. In this humane search he had continued some time, and was beginning to despair of rescuing one from the shades of death, when coming near where I lay, he thought he perceived signs of life in me, and applying himself to restore suspended animation, had the satisfaction of seeing me open my eyes, and finally recover from the temporary death which had seized me. "As soon as I thought myself well enough to reach the town which the British troops had taken possession of on the day I fell, I mentioned my intention to the friendly Paria, whom I wished to accompany me as a guide; but the dread he had of encountering any of his countrymen who were not Parias, made him try to persuade me to defer my departure, at least till I was in a better condition to undertake the journey; which, though only at the distance of a few miles, would occasion me, in my present weak state, great fatigue. The tranquillity I enjoyed in the Paria's hut, together with the romantic beauty of the scenery, which surrounded it, and the melodious concerts of the birds, whose carols awoke me every morning at the rising of the sun, and by their grateful hymns of praise to the divine dispenser of good, shed a pleasing calm over my senses, induced me to yield to his request. There was something more consonant to the tender melancholy of my mind, in the primitive simplicity of my present situation, than I could hope to find in the busy tumult of a fortified town; I therefore was not sorry to have an excuse for staying in so secluded and peaceful an abode." 'Tis true, the luxuries, nay, even the conveniencies of life, were not to be ob-tained in the Paria's hut. But nature's calls are few, and I had no inclination for more than would merely satisfy nature.. The fruits and vegetables the Paria procured for me, from a little garden he had cultivated round his hut, satisfied my hunger, and the delicious milk of the cocoa-nut assuaged my thirst.. "The Paria went, as he had been accustomed to do every night, to the burying places of the Brahmins, the more respectable, because the established cast of Indians, to take that food for his support which the piety of relations had placed on the tombs of their deceased friends,.. which, when obtained, was frequently eaten in terror, as the Brahmins sometimes poison it, to prevent the Parias touching it, CHAP. VI. Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, This is my own, my native land? SCOTT'S LAY OF THE LAST Minstrel. "On his return from one of those nocturnal rambles in search of food, he gave me to understand he had wandered in hopes of procuring some information that would be pleasing to me, near the town lately taken by the British; but, instead of hearing any thing pleasant to communicate, he had learnt that the native troops left in the town as prisoners had been liberated from confinement by some of their countrymen who were in British pay, and that they had risen on the Euro peans, massacred them all, and made themselves masters of the town. "I was struck with horror at this dreadful intelligence, which I did not doubt was true, well knowing the hatred which the Indians bear to Europeans, taken collectively. A few solitary instances may occur, as in my case; but, generally speaking, they dislike them, as they consider them tyrants and usurpers. The English too, from their natural disposition to reject suspicion, frequently lay themselves open to dangers, by placing such confidence in the natives, and enforcing customs and regulations to which they are strangers, and consequently averse. My friendly host, observing the detestation my countenance expressed of the perpetrators of this horrible deed, seemed to think I should include him in the guilt of his countrymen, and extend my dislike to him in consequence. He therefore applied himself more assiduous |