. Pen and pencil sketches; being reminiscences during eighteen years' residence in Bengal. so far as its originalconception was concerned, and the native communityreturned to the old saw. The intelligent reader will scarcely need to bereminded how on a subsequent occasion a preciselysimilar idle story cautiously circulated had mostdisastrous results. The wily Hindoos professed tofind in tbe Kuran that Muhammad had predicted,in a mysterious manner, that India would some dayfall under the dominion of a foreign power, whosesway would last only for a century. That powerof course was construed to b
. Pen and pencil sketches; being reminiscences during eighteen years' residence in Bengal. so far as its originalconception was concerned, and the native communityreturned to the old saw. The intelligent reader will scarcely need to bereminded how on a subsequent occasion a preciselysimilar idle story cautiously circulated had mostdisastrous results. The wily Hindoos professed tofind in tbe Kuran that Muhammad had predicted,in a mysterious manner, that India would some dayfall under the dominion of a foreign power, whosesway would last only for a century. That powerof course was construed to be the British, andcomputing from the battle of Plassey which wasfought on the 23rd of June, 1757, they declared that * Imagination gallops, judgment only goes a foot pace. E 2 52 PEN AND PENCIL SKETCHES. the British rule would cease on the 23rd of June,1858. This discovery was communicated to theMusalmans, and it was decided that a general mas-sacre of the Christians should take place on thatday. Then the story was invented and circulatedthroughout the army that the cartridges about to. HAND-MILL, be served out to them were made of cows fatand hogs lard. Tlie sequel is too well known toneed repetition. The hand-mill for making flour used by all thenatives of India consists of two stones, one turninground on the other. The grain is put into a circular HAND-MILLS. 53 orifice in the upper one, wliich has a handle fixed init, and it is tnrned quickly round on the lower oneor bed. The surface of the bed is imperfectly serratedor grooved, and, in the process of grinding the flour,ejects itself as it becomes fine. The analogy betweenthe Romans and the natives of India is in one respectso close, to my mind, that I may be excused if Iallude to it. The skill of both nations in workingmetals may be said to be quite equal to can be more beautiful than the executionof their articles of luxury, yet the hand-mills ofboth countries were exceedingly rude, and so weremany other arti
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