THE CIRCASSIANS.-No. II. We resume our reference to Mr. Bell's "Residence in Circassia." On crossing the valley of Ozerek, which is the only large one between Semez and Anapa, and which gives its name by usage to the neighbourhood, I was vexed to see, by the dispersing of a multitude on the hills before us, the driving away of the cattle, and the firing of small arms, that a trial, which was a case of manslaughter, had terminated with the payment, in cattle and sundry other articles of property, of the covenanted price of blood. Two hundred oxen are the legal fine for each death-murder or manslaughter (as we call it); but as few families possess so many, any other articles that may be offered are taken instead; and these assemblies are juries, for the purpose not only of trying the criminal, but of ascertaining the equivalence of such articles as are substituted for oxen. As we passed the temporary court of justice, a thatched shed, we had further proof of proceedings having terminated, by its being set on fire too, as is invariably done. The delinquent in this case appears to have been insane, as he had killed a boy, and wounded two other persons of a family he had conceived himself aggrieved by, and had entered a house for the purpose of killing one of my countrymen whom he expected to find there. His fraternity had consequently put him to death in the usual manner, by throwing him into the sea with his arms tied; yet his family and fraternity are bound, by the Circassian ideas of justice, to pay the legal fines for his offences. It may easily be conceived that such institutions, though at variance with our notions of justice in the West, are yet highly conducive to good order, each family and fraternity being deeply interested in watching the conduct of each individual connected with them, lest they should be amerced for his misdemeanour. The fines payable in this instance were two hundred oxen for a boy killed, and thirty for a young man, and two for a woman wounded, the latter having been less severely injured. Of these only the former has yet been exacted; the parents of the boy having received the value of sixty oxen, and their fraternity the remainder. The payment of the other two is fixed for next summer, and will be proportionably divided among the sufferers and their fraternities. The cause for such division is, that the family and fraternity of the delinquent are amenable in similar proportions. Having by special invitation been now for some days in the immediate vicinity of the judicial assembly, I have gained some idea of the nature of its proceedings. Their object at first was a double one-the suppression of the national practice of theft, and of treacherous dealing or other communication with the enemy. But the latter being now the most important affair, it alone is to be prosecuted at present, in order that all the delinquents -supposed to be very numerous-may be dealt with before the commencement of a new campaign. So far as I have yet seen, there appears to be no ground for complaint of the law's delay, at any rate. Immediately on arriving in a district where criminals are reported to be, the tamatas and others assemble in some central locality, which affords partial shelter from the wind then prevailing; and whether it have been one from northward bearing frost and snow, or from the opposite quarter with torrents of rain, the proceedings of these hardy lawyers of the hills have gone on uninterruptedly If the ground be in fit condition, the elders seat themselves upon it on a little straw; if otherwise, they stand in a circle, while those especially engaged to co-operate (whose muster-roll is a notched staff, and none of whom dare quit the vicinity of the wittenagemote, or field of justice, without the special permission of the three presidents) remain around on horseback, or as their fancy may lead them, listening at times to what is going forward, or practising their steeds, ready to be despatched to bring by force before the elders any person reported criminal, and who may refuse to attend. On the appearance of one of the latter, if his confession agree with the information against him, he is at once adjudged to pay the fine attached to his offence, and payment being exacted immediately on condemnation, the most difficult duty of the judges appears to be that of valuing the articles— horses, arms, armour, merchandise, &c., taken in lieu of the number of oxen one is liable to pay; viz., six (or three hundred piastres), if he prove by witnesses or his oath that he visited a Russian fort solely for the purpose of purchasing salt; twentyfour, if it be proved that he held communication for other purposes with the enemy; but, if he have previously taken the national oath against such practices, and it be proved that he has broken it for any purpose, he may be held to have forfeited his life, which he or his fraternity must redeem by the payment of 200 oxen or their value: such extremity is not, however, resorted to excepting after repeated transgressions. The same fine falls to be paid by any one whose examination disagrees with the report against him, and who, on being put to his oath, can be proved by the oaths of two or more witnesses to have forsworn himself. For the purpose of having the oath administered, the Koran is appended to two rifle-rests, hard by the circle of elders; and he who has to be sworn goes there apart with three or four of them, in whose presence he makes his declaration, taking the Koran in his hand and saying, This is the book of God, and I declare, &c. I may explain that the oaths of two witnesses are necessary to condemn | it were, a floating barrier around the tribunal; for an accused, because the oath of the latter is taken; and if its testimony disagree with that of but one witness, the one is held to have counterbalanced the other, and judgment cannot then be pronounced but by the convention of the judicial elders of eight fraternities. But if even they pass sentence of death upon an individual, his fraternity-if it still think him undeserving of such extremity-has the power of redemption, by the payment of two hundred oxen. I may further explain that in each fraternity a certain number of the tamatas or elders (according to the amount of the fraternity) are selected by their fellows on account of their integrity, wisdom, and experience, and solemnly sworn to administer justice according to conscience, without regard of persons and without acceptance of fee to pervert it. These elders are denominated❘ tarko-khass-that is, sworn to justice. In the judicial and other assemblies any one present is at liberty to speak, but few who are not tarko-khass (or at least elders) are much attended to; and the latter, after the evidence in a trial has been publicly given and debated upon, go apart and decide upon the judgment, when they return and publicly communicate it through him who has been appointed president. During the present circuit for the punishment of treason, it has so happened that many of those accused have been found to have absented themselves. In such a case the house of the accused would be burned unless some friend became guarantee for his production on his return home. In cases of theft, the criminal is ordinarily tried by the judicial elders of his own fraternity and that of the person robbed; but the latter if a judicial congress be assembled, has his choice of carrying his case before it. In the former case, the fine (which is to the value of seven oxen, in addition to the restitution of the value of the article | stolen, or twenty-four oxen if the crime be a second one) falls to be divided among the judicial elders of the two societies; in the latter, these fines go into the general account of the judicial elders and their assistants. In the case of a hardened malefactor, he is dealt by as in the case of extreme treachery; that is, he is either-besides condemnation on his last offence-adjudged and put to death by his own fraternity (which is the usual mode), or condemned to it by the judges of eight other societies, leaving the power of redemption to his own. This administration of justice presents other singular features: for instance, the great assemblage of force, viz., four or five hundred men brought together, to such an amount, for no end that I can perceive, except that of proving that what is done is not the work of a party, but of the sovereign majority; and this force is not stationary, except those numbered on the muster-staff-but forms, as the heads of families, of whom with their attendants it is chiefly composed, may absent themselves temporarily, if they please, and many for a time go home on their own affairs, or elsewhere, for other purposes. Thus my host, Vardan, and some others, pending the present proceedings, made an excursion to the sea-side, between the fortresses of Anapa and Jamatia, where one of them was fortunate enough to capture two Cossacks, their horses, arms, and the postbag they were charged with, containing some fifty letters from Russia, for which only these faithful messengers pleaded earnestly, protesting that they cared not what became of themselves, if the letters were but forwarded in safety to their destination, which of course was not complied with. One of the letters was given me. It is a military one, and its number 30,870, proves what I have before observed-the immense multiplicity of such documents. Another of these singular features is, that the remuneration of the judges and of the whole posse comitatus, accruing from a division among them of the fines they impose, the amount of the one necessarily depends upon that of the other; which, it might be supposed, would lead to unnecessary severity, from mere self-interest. A case I have known of a fine having been remitted tends to prove the contrary; which is further proved by the same leniency having been shown to one of my late hosts, and to some others, upon their taking oath that the salt used in their families had been purchased by order of their wives, and entirely without their knowledge. Nay, I have even heard of instances of the oath being administered a second time to individuals who were pretty well known to have broken it the first. The host now mentioned had to feed and lodge in his hamlet, during the night I spent there, some twelve individuals, including myself and attendants. My host here has in like manner had seventeen; and all the householders are similarly inconvenienced. This is like quartering a detachment of troops upon an offending district, and may thus be productive of some good. It is, indeed, a means sometimes resorted to, to force on the discovery of thieves; the members of congress continuing to live at free quarters in the accused neighbourhood, sometimes for several months, though not continuously, until such discovery be made. But the innocent are thus punished along with the guilty, and many of the former have complained loudly of such hardship. This complaint I feel disposed to re-echo, and I am not without hope that by further harping upon this (timeous) chord, I may lead the chiefs to the construction of a permanent tribunal, according to a modification of their own institutions, which may serve eventually for some form of fixed or permanent government, the object my countrymen and I have long striven to effect. A CHAPTER FOR THE YOUNG. SWARTZ, THE MISSIONARY. NO. I. INDIA has awakened and sustained, for ages, the liveliest interest of our race. The ancients considered it the garden of Asia; a land of beauty, splendour, and abundance; a perfect paradise, where every sense might have full gratification. For many of later times it has been the theatre of conflict and of triumph, the region of fortune and of fame, the land of gold and silver, of diamonds and pearls. The Christian philanthropist meanwhile has been absorbed in contemplating the moral condition of its people, and in employing means for the promotion of their present and eternal welfare. Among the instruments engaged with this design, Christian Frederick Swartz, a native of Germany, , holds a distinguished place. His mother had early devoted him to God: with her dying lips she charged her husband, and her pastor, to train him up for his service alone; and most signally were her hopes realised and her prayers answered. Great will be her happiness for ever for the gift of such a son; and equally great and enduring will be his felicity for the grant of such a mother. Her last and solemn charge continually and forcibly recurred to his mind, and mighty indeed was its influence. In the early part of the year 1750, he arrived in Tranquebar, and in a few months, after intense and constant study, delivered his first sermon in the Tamul language. Here he laboured for some years, but the soil was neither fruitful nor promising; the few plants it yielded could not satisfy a heart which longed for many; and he therefore removed to Tanjore. He saw that the nations of this country were taught to read in heathen books the evil conduct of their gods, and that the body and the soul were thereby destroyed. Females were fearfully neglected; he describes it as a most rare occurrence" for a father to afford his daughter the means of learning to read; while a hundred thousand young Brahmins, or priests, might easily be collected together, who, except their daily ceremonies, did nothing but pass their lives in corrupting pleasure and sloth. Of course they hated the missionary, and their opposition was the more formidable for being silent and contemptuous. One circumstance strikingly shows the power of the priesthood. In an interview which Swartz had with the king of Tanjore, and while he was explain ing the doctrines of Christianity, the chief Brahmin entered. But did he advance with an act of homage to the ruler ?-on the contrary, he proceeded to an elevated seat, while the king prostrated himself on the ground before the Brahmin. Afterwards the king made signs to the missionary to converse with the priest, who heard all he advanced with seeming attention, but made no reply. In the evening, being invited to the house of the chief officer, Swartz spoke for some time, to a large company of Brahmins, Moors, and courtiers, who were there assembled. He found such communication extremely difficult, but he surmounted every obstacle, and was "not weary in well-doing." It was his daily custom to go out among heathens, Mohammedans, and papists, reading to them, and urging them to be reconciled to God. On one occasion he visited a spot, where crowds were busily adorning a new temple. Here were a number of stone idols, of uncouth and frightful shape. But he drew off the multitude, who listened as he told them, with much simplicity and affection, of the ever-living and only true God. A company of merchants now came up, and immediately he spoke to them of" the true riches." Then, proceeding on his way, he arrived at a place where most of the inhabitants had gathered together in front of a house, to follow a corpse; and sitting down beside the body, he told them how death might be the gate to endless life-a night on which a bright and glorious day would quickly dawn. In the afternoon, he describes himself, in his journal, as in an excellent resting-house, which the queen had caused to be built. Behind was a row of Brahmin houses, almost a mile long, in which was erected a new pagoda. In this house a hundred priests were daily fed. He says: "The great farmer or lessee was just arrived, where the young Brahmins visited. It was as if a body of young students had assembled; they sung before him. The sound of their voices; the coolness of the hour, for it was evening; and the loneliness of the place, in the middle of a vast plain-made it resemble a resting of the patriarchs of old.” And who will not be struck with the devotedness of the missionary as he adds: "I proposed and expounded to them the parable of the prodigal son. that they would truly arise and go to their Father!" Oh! At another time, when from home, he appears visiting the merchants at their booths. As they sat with their legs crossed, their beards resting on their bosoms, and their slippers laid aside in the Moorish fashion, they listened to his words in deep silence. And here the heart, under the influence of its worldliness, appeared just as it had done in other parts of the earth-just as it does in England even now. They answered: "It is so written, but who can live so? Who is able to root out his desires? We have it also on the palm-leaves, but it is impossible to keep it." But the word he bore them meets all such objections. There we read: "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."-" My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." To be near the assemblies of the natives, Swartz built in Urieur a little thatched cottage, standing apart from other dwellings, and shaded by a group A CHAPTER FOR THE YOUNG. of trees from the sun. Hither at times he came, preparing only a simple meal of rice, and quenching his thirst at the neighbouring stream. When evening advanced, as many temples were here, he went forth and mingled with the people. At night, during the feast, the pagodas were illuminated with many thousand lamps, and as he heard the songs and cries of the deluded visitants, the impulse was renewed to tender compassion and self-denying labour. Ere long, however, he was deprived of this "lodge in the wilderness." It was pulled down, with one or two pagodas, that the nabob might have a large garden on the spot. Swartz felt the loss; it was not only the scene of sighs and sadness, but of hopes and joys, and communion with his God. Now he betook himself to the dwellings of others at Urieur. They received him, for he asked only the shelter of their roof and the simplest fare. Tall in stature, of a strong but not robust frame, with silver hair, a high and fine forehead, a large and light blue eye, and features in which firmness and mildness were happily blended—he was, indeed, an interesting guest; and as he entered the native cottage, bestowed his blessing, and caressed its children, there was an attraction but rarely withstood. He could not share their repast, for that they deemed unlawful; and sometimes he would go forth into the grove and eat his morsel alone. At length Urieur was set on fire by an enemy of its native prince. Swartz was sometimes found in very different cicumstances. Passing one day through the streets of Tanjore, the people crowded around him, even to the palace-gates. In the evening he was brought to the king in front of the royal chamber, and under the open sky, a table was set ; cushions were laid on the earth; and the chief officers and attendants stood around. Opposite was an apartment where the king's wives, though unseen, were gazing intently on this remarkable interview. Their desire was natural to look on one so remarkable, nor less curious were they to hear the tidings he brought; for at the monarch's command, Swartz delivered an address in the Persian tongue. The mind is impressed while the imagination pictures the venerable man, amidst the silence and beauty of an eastern night, descanting on the things of God to this Hindoo assembly, who listened to his voice with profound attention. "Perhaps," he remarks, “the fruit will appear when I am laid at rest.” 87 It must, however, be elearly stated that these were pursued amidst difficulties of a truly formidable character. There are times, undoubtedly, highly favourable to the exercise of Christian principles, and the consequent promotion of the missionary enterprise. But the eighteenth century was not such a period in the history of the coast of Coromandel. War, one of the fiercest and most insatiable scourges of the human race, and one of the most stupendous obstacles that can arise to the cause of God and truth, was now furiously raging in India; for Europeans had made it their battlefield-the scene of relentless and deadly strife. Hyder Ally, a man who it is said could never write his own name, but of no ordinary energy and valour, had risen from an humble rank to be the commander of the forces of the Rajah of Mysore Proper. In this capacity he added conquest to conquest, until he usurped the throne he had promised to sustain, and wore the crown he had ruthlessly torn from another's brow. As avowed Mohammedans, he and his son, Tippoo Sultan, carried on the most fearful persecution, with the design to increase adherents to their faith, and practised atrocious barbarity, to secure their power and dominion. Deeply afflictive is it to the common feelings of humanity, to say nothing of the highest principles by which it can be influenced, to track their course of cruelty and blood. And at the crisis referred to, Hyder Ally, urged on by the French, descended from the Mysore with a powerful army, laid waste the Carnatic and the lower countries, and twice threatened Tanjore with utter desolation. It is therefore one of the glories of Swartz that he carried on his missionary labours amidst conflicting nations and the noise of war. Such was his familiarity with the language of India, the confidence he infused into its people, and the respect and admiration he elicited even from its highest authorities, that all united to hail him as their friend and benefactor. The majesty of truth-the dignity of pure benevolence, here received its homage. So far indeed was confidence inspired, that the Madras government asked him to negotiate with Hyder Ally, that peace might return; and he speedily set out for Seringapatam. His journey thither was beset by no ordinary perils. He had to pass woods and mountains infested with wild beasts; and often, when composing himself to sleep in his tent, he was aroused by And well might he employ his deepest solicitude the cry of the jackal or the roar of the tiger. Here and utmost exertions in behalf of all ranks of the multitudes perished every year, and though he and people of India. There never was, in any age or his companions, when longing for a cooling draught, country, a superstition so cruel, so atrocious, and heard the sound of water in the heights around, so wicked, as that which has reigned over its they often feared, in their ascent, the pouncing upon millions of people. The ingenuity of Satan appears them of some beast of prey. But from dangers so to have created it, that some might be made as imminent he was mercifully preserved, and on much like his angels as possible. No wonder then arriving at the capital a tent was pitched for his at the missionary's ardent and persevering labours. | residence on the glacis of the fort, where he was visited by officers and judges of the court, as well as Brahmins, anxious to know the doctrines he held. At length he had an audience of the prince, and was invited to reside in the palace,-" a place," says Swartz," where the nearest friends do not trust themselves to open their hearts. Within the palace, Hyder's ancient friend, Kundee Row, is confined in an iron cage, and fed with bread and milk; by which means the former kept his vow that he would treat him like a parroquet. Dreadful punishments take place daily. I am hardly sure whether I ought to describe how one of his official servants was punished. His screams were awful." | In a hall, supported by a double row of lofty pillars of marble, whose capitals were cut into the form of palm and cocoa-leaves-a hall opening into a garden filled with beautiful trees, many of which being grafted, bore two kinds of fruit, Swartz often conversed with this Eastern despot. One evening he desired the missionary to speak in Persian before him as he had done to his people; but the appeal which he consequently made was in vain. During the three months of his residence at Seringapatam he was zealously occupied, when not engaged with the prince, in the cause of his mission. He visited many Europeans he had known in other parts. Amidst the coolness of evening, he often repaired to the glacis of the fort and preached to persons of different ranks. And when about to depart, Hyder ordered all his officers between the capital and Tanjore "to permit the Father Swartz to pass unmolested, and show him respect and kindness, for," he added, "he is a holy man, and means no harm to my government." Nor was this all "when I took my leave," says the missionary, "Hyder Ali presented me with a bag of rupees, for the expense of my journey; but having been furnished with supplies by the Honourable Board at Madras, I delivered the bag to them. As they urged me to take it, I desired their permission to appoint this sum, as the first fund for an English charity-school at Tanjore. Being told that the governor intended to procure me a present from the Board, I begged leave to decline accepting any, declaring that if my journey had been in any way beneficial to the public, I rejoiced at it." Is not here a display of admirable disinterestedness? To the people of Tanjore he rendered also special service in a time of great extremity. A powerful enemy was near the city, the people in the port were numerous, there was not provision even for the garrison, and the usual supplies could not be obtained. The brinjaries, the gipsies of India, carry on merchandize between one country and another; supplying armies in time of war, and having their persons and property respected by all parties; but now they would not trust the officers of the court; and thus the greatest distress prevailed. The seapoys, emaciated with hunger, fell down as dead, and corpses lined the streets every morning. At this juncture the Rajah called upon Swartz to interpose, and supplies were immediately obtained. The word of the missionary prevailed when every other had ceased to be believed. Would the young know the secret of such a mighty influence over various ranks? It is found in that moral worth-that true excellency of character which is power, in every nation and in every age. The minds of multitudes were swayed by Swartz, as they have been by others, from a full conviction that he was in the highest sense of the phrase, a good man. We trust the character we have now described will interest many of the young; hereafter we may trace his subsequent career. S. THE SABBATH IN CHILI. Ar Payne, our first halting-place, and where we remained for the Sunday, we were lodged at the Posada, dignified by the name of "El Hospital," · but where we had not even a bedstead in a room, through the roof of which, in parts where the thatch was thin, we could observe the stars when the candles were extinguished. In these country inns a ballad-singer is considered indispensable, who is constantly employed during the day, in order to attract customers. She takes her post near the principal entry, accompanying her voice, generally loud and cracked, with a guitar. No exception is made, even on the Sabbath, and this desecration of the Lord's Day continued, with very little intermission, from soon after sunrise until sunset; but it was not the only annoyance ; wine, which is less than a rial (6d.) a bottle, soon began to circulate, and many who came only to listen could scarcely sit upon their horses when they returned. At Talca we were far better accommodated at the Café del Comercio ; but in the inner court, exactly facing our window, was a cock-pit which was only opened on Sundays. From the first dawn of daylight we were disturbed by the shrill crowing of the numerous cocks, which, in order to be in readiness, had been leg-tied in every corner of the pateos. About eleven the place was crowded with spectators, and from that time till one or two o'clock in the afternoon, the noise and disturbance were so great, that we were literally obliged to take our books and adjourn to the hedges in the outskirts of the town for retirement. It is truly painful to reflect, that a government calling itself Christian, should not only tolerate this barbarous pastime, but carry to its account, as a considerable item of its revenue, the sums which it annually acquires from the licences granted to those who thus openly bid defiance to the better feelings of humanity and the express commands of God.-Captain Gardiner's Visit to the Indians of Chili. |
