rom the first essays of a far more frightful peal;
or suddenly bursting over your heads, rend the vault above and shake
the ground below with a hideous and horrid crack!" In the evening the
weather began to clear up, which induced me to walk out, when taking
two peons as a guard, I proceeded south of the town, on a beautiful
plain: the pleasantness of the weather, and the stillness of the
evening, tempted me to prolong my walk, and inspired my mind to
contemplate on the wonderful works of Providence, who had so lately
showered down his blessings upon me, in preserving me from want in the
midst of a heathen world. The sun had almost finished his daily
course, and sunk lower and lower till he seemed to hover on the verge
of the sky!

The globe is now half immured beneath the dusky earth; or, as the
ancient poet speaks, "is shooting into the ocean, and sinks into the
western sea." The whole face of the ground was overspread with shades,
and what the painters of nature call "dun obscurity." Only a few
superior eminences, tipt with streaming silver, the tops of groves and
lofty towers that catch the last smiles of day, were still irradiated
by the departing beams. But, O how transient is the destination--how
momentary the gift! like all the blessings which mortals enjoy below,
it is gone almost as soon as granted. How languishingly it trembled on
the leafy spire, and glimmered with dying faintness on the mountain's
sable brow! till it expired and resigned the world to the gradual
approaches of night.

SECTION VII.

THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM CUDDAPAH--DESCRIPTION OF THE
DIFFERENT VILLAGES, AND ARRIVAL AT HYDRABAD--DESCRIPTION OF
HYDRABAD, AND DEPARTURE THEREFROM--ARRIVAL AT NERMUL.

On the morning of the 27th, I proceeded on my route over the chain
hills, with which the town of Cuddapah is surrounded; the roads are
very good, but the steepness of the hills made it very fatiguing: in
six hours I arrived at Batoor, a distance of twelve miles. Batoor is a
large village, the houses are built of mud and bamboo, and form a
motley group; the only protection they have from the number of robbers
which infest that part, is a small fort, about two hundred square
feet; the ramparts are about fourteen feet in thickness, and at each
angle a small gun is mounted upon a pivot, about three feet from its
walls; the fort in general is very much out of repair; the inhabitants
are Hindoos, and are very indolent; the