26 THE RETURN FROM HUNTING.
iiiiU'cd sonic liavc been al lend ml willi fevers wliicli have proved Tiilai. A
ciisloni loniiorly prevailed, \vlicn llie society was sniull, loi- every lady on her
arrival lu sit up, as i I nas ternu-d, three nights to receive the visits of all the
iidudiitants of ihe PrcsicU'iiey, who were inlroduced by a master of the
cerei I ionics ; generally a iriend, ho o Hi ci a led on ihc occasion. Many a poor
girl has undergone tliis ])enauce in periecL disguise, owing to ihe ravages of the
nuis((nilos; so miieh so, iiide<-d, lliut after recovering, those who had been
introduced at the sitting up, could not possibly recognize the fair victim.
The ordinary brown mns([uito is pretty similar to the cpniinon gnat ; but
there is a species niarkctl with white linos across the body and linibs, whose
bite is dreadl'iilly keen. A very large kind is found in swampy situations,
whose proboscis peiielratcs a horse's skin with ease, causing the blood to flow
as ii' from the puucliirc made by a spear. They do not forget to pay their
respects to the rider, as 1 have al times most feelingly experienced. Many a
snij)e may thank a nius(]uilo for a bite given to ihe sportsman al the moment:
when the trigger has been louched.
Besides iVies and ninsqnilos, there are many dreadful pests in India, among
\vhi<'h the most unpleasant are snakes, scorpions, and' centipedes. In Plate
XXXV, which reíales to the Ganges breaking its banks, &c. the reader will
finil an ample description of the several sorts of snakes; it is needless in this
place to say more than thai they are extremely numerous, often inhabit burrows
in the Avails of houses, originally nuide by rat.<, and that the most venomous
sorts arc the most j)arlial to such situations; in fact, it has frequently happened
that snakes have been found in beds on turning down ihe clothes, and many
person.s have waked in the morning with snakes coiled up under their pillows.
As to frogs, loads, and lizards, ihey arc often seen skipping aboul a room by
dozens, while bals are Hying around, and ihrealening to ulighl on the heads of
the company.
There an? few scor|)ions in Bengal jiroper; l)ut in Bahar, and the upper
country, where the soil is drier, they abound. There are livo sorts; the one of
a deep green bottle colour, which grows to a large size, and of which I have seen
some measuring oighl inches from the nose to the end of the sting : ihe other
specie.s is ot a yellowish grey, and rarely exceeds three inches. These occasion
much pain, but the large sort are more to be apprehended, their venom being
copious and deeper buried by the greater force \vilh which they sting. Their
form is loo well known to recpiire <lescription. They carry their knotty tails
arched over their backs, striking their object rather before their heads, and
clinging with their claws, which are very strong, like ihose of a crab. They
rarely sting wilhoul provocation, vet instances have been known to the contrary.
Centipedes grow to nearly a foot long, and as thick a.s a man'.s little finger ;
their form is indeed llaller, or more like tape. When young they are of a clay
colour, but become darker with age. They bile by lueaus of a pair of s.rong
forceps placed horizontally at their mouths, nearly as large as the hooked
thorns on a blackberry bramble, causing much pain and inllamination, and often
occasioning fever. Being from tiieir slia])e so peiailiurty capable of secreling
themselves, tiiey somelimes occasion very ludicrous accidents. I once saw a
friend apply a tlute to his mouth to play ou it, but scarce had he begun, when
a large centipede faslened to his under lip, causing liim to change his note very
abruptly! Several have been billen while smoking their hookahs, and I was
myself once made to smart in putting on my gloves, a ceutipedc having taken
possession of one of the fingers.
A very grave and truly respectable old gentleman, who was remarkably fond
of starling an hypothesis, and hunting it to dealh, and who would rather pay
tlie piper than not have his dance out on all such occasions, perceived a very
large centipede deliberately cra'\\'ling up an old door at Belhsaron gardens near
Chororinghee. The veteran assured the company that all venomous animals
were in iheir nature inollensive, and never wounded but when attacked. Experience
having satisfied some present of ihe contrary, an argument arose, and
the old gentlenuui witli much dignity asserted he would prove the validity of
his position, by placing his finger in the centipede's way. He did so, and received
such a bile as occasioned a violent fever, from which a critical abscess
under his arm-pit relieved him.
It is well known liiat if rats be confined together for anytime, they will fight
till but one survive : this is not so mucli a matter of surprise as that scorpions,
w^hen surrounded by hot embers, should .sting thcm.selves to death ; a fact I
have more tiian once witnessed.
The ninnber of hawks which may be seen, especially in fair warm weather, is
truly sur[)rising. Tliey are extremely useful iu removing an immense quantity
ofoflal, that else, becoming putrid, would speedily fill the atmosphere with
noxious vapours. They keep hovering aboul, frequently in such numbers as in
some measure to darken ihe air, especially when any new prey is discovered.
They are remarkably cpiick and bold, never hesitating to make a dart al any
viand that may be carried either in the hand, or in a basket, &e. ; which circumstance
renders it absolutely necessary when bringing dinner from the
kilchen, often a hundred yards distant, that one or more servants attend,
flourishing sticks, to intimidate the hawks from pouncing down upon the
viclual.s; however, they often do in spite of every precaution. I liave seen them,
more than once, skim through the quarters at Bcrhampore, taking with ihem a
fowl, a fpiarter of a kid, or some sticii thing from off ihe dinner lable.
During the whole day, great numbers of large birds of various descriptions
may be seen soaring at an inimen.se height, so high indeed, that even that
cumbrous bird ihe urgeeluh (or adjutant), whose wings exi)anil perhaps seven
or eight feet, can scarcely be distinguished. These, with ihe vulture, which
must be endowed with an exijuisite sense of smelling, since it can scenta carcase
J'