remarked, that the prettiest women I saw were employed in parrying
water inU^theipalace.; .
-.Thoughthe life of a Gylong be in an extreme degree,' sedentary and
,^)^isj^jy^tr whether_it may »be ascribed or no't-to regularity ^ndjem-
perance, they are certainly fairer in their complexions, and.,mare,ath-
Jetic, than the lest of their cojintrymen, The former advantage, .indeed,
■ of which they boast, may be imputed to a very obvious-ca^se;; as.they
are less, exposed to the weather, exempt from lahom:>?aji4j inpre . atten-
live to personal cleanliness, than the rest of them nation,, ;
. We used to. see them passing in procession, at the.ba^Cjof thejpmi;
.nence pm which our . habitation, stood; in order to cross the-bridgg, and
proceed oyer a small plain, on, the. other-side,-to ,a little island, at’a
short distance, where; they undressed, and laved: theirbrawny limbs ,iti
the waters of tfieTehintchieu.- Tina resort of tberGylongs was-visible
from our windows; and. as they went "half naked into' the. water.,jsuch
a promiscuous assemblage, afforded a .fair opportunity» oJVfemfeg a
just judgment of their figure: and I know not where in .the world,
aii equal number of men would be met with, so straight, so well-proportioned,
and so stout. This may be taken as a^general character ; ; and
I do nqt: remember a single instance of deformity in thespace through
which l have travelled, unless we reckon as such, the glandular swelling
of the .throat, of which I shall presently speak more particularly.
■ ;,,The Booteeas haye invariably black hair, which it is their fashion to
: cut, close to the head. The eye is a very remarkable feature of the
»face: small, black, with long pointed corners, as though stretched and
extended ,by artificial means. ..Their eyelashes are so thin, as ,to be
B O o n A Ni m
scarcelyjperceptibld?< andtyhbmy'ebrmwiijbijfc §J|gh,ti*y?s!tpded. »Below
sthe.ey.es, isJthp broadest; part» ofitfieTa-Ggyphiohjis^rathen flat^and,narrows
from the .cheekbones- to; bhe[chin»;^a»<dharac'ter aj£-
pearingifirst» to, takes ifestrise among<the Tart^fij frtfibesijib.u.M8I bydaf^more
^(mglyyharkedun.'tky^hjsnese.rTheir^s’kinsiaTeTemarkably, smoqth,
and most-’of them^rriHe at asverysadvaneed age, bjgfoaie, $,e,y egn vbgast
:even<'thfe'i^rl-ieste rudiments, of a ».beard: itheypufilvatp whiskers, but
the best theysproduke,. are of a'scanty, stf aggliug;growtfi-.y In tfii^fifetaic
acquisition I quickly surpassed them; and one, otf my Mogul attendants,
iftpihe »loxuriapcytuf his, -was the» admirationjof them; all. M any ofithege
<mduntameers are »more than six'Teetf high,;» and, taken» altogether,
'they- have a complexion mot» so dark by several shg4.es. a§1 thgt-^the
Though it be 'Somewhat' to their»'discredit,vye(Hmpartiafity.pbliges
nie!-t6- own, that my new friends:were»,:far» from having,'any -yfer^nice
notions ‘of cleanliness. The ablttfio^hayfe^jus^dolacedpis a »..practice
connected with their religioW.a'ndinot'repeated. more .frequently
than it enjoins. The - ministers, 'it!-*ihaytbe~ ote^tesreds'are totally» a
’distinct class, confined solely to the- duties faith;* aridVthe
'dlifirihoh people, pretending*to no interference inatnatten^ef spiritual
%pheeirn, leave religion, with all its forms and'ceremonies, to those who
are attached from early habit- to its-obligations, -prejudices,.mad prescriptions
: and hence, no doubt, many»find an apology.-for abjuring; the
usk of water, as nature offers it, either, on their persoqs,»or;at their
meals. During our stay at Tassisudon, »the Gyloji'gs.marched regularly
once in evbry: succeeding week, to' the performance ^fithis. salutary