a receipt which it contained afforded sufficient proof.* The book, therefore, was bought in, not purchased by Mr. A. at the sale above referred to; and I, in consequence, presumed that it had been replaced (when the printed copy was completed) in its former owner's liberal hands. I now learn for the first time, and with regret, that Chatterton's autograph copy is supposed to have perished at the printing-house.

VII. As the Hindoos commence their year in Bysack, corresponding with the month of April, I will note their festivals in the order in which they occur; reckoning from the first of that month: but I must here beg leave to observe that the term Oupass, means ́a fast; Pourob, a feast; and Poujah, worship, adoration; and when it is accompanied by an offering, it is called Birto Poujah. The Hindoos calculate their festivals according to the age of the moon, and in general adopt its age as the name of the duties to be performed thereon. Their offerings consist of fruits and particular plants, which they hold as sacred; such as sugar, salted cakes, and different kind of flowers and grains; and on more solemn occasions, sacrifices of living animals, such as he-goats and buffaloes, are made.

The first holiday-Oupass.

VIII-1st.-Okui Tertia ; happens on the third day of the new moon of April. This day is set apart for bestowing alms on Bhrumons, which is the meaning of Okui. On this day likewise the Bhruminese make the preserve called kassimdi, composed of green mangoes, tamarinds, and mustard seed; it is esteemed sacred.

Second-Oupass.

IX.—2nd.-Pournemi, happens on the full of the moon of April; it is appropriated to purifying in the Ganges, and bestowing

alms.

...

*See Gent. Mag. for 1799, p. 385.

VOL. XVI.

Third-Oupass, or Poujah Pouwb.

X.-3rd.-Orun Sousti; happens on the sixth day of the new moon of May; it is dedicated to the goddess Sousti, who presides over generation. They address prayers to her either when the morning star first appears or at the close of day, asking for children, and to render women fruitful. On this day, both fathers and mothers generally make presents to their sons and daughters-in-law, and conclude the day with a feast.

Fourth Feast Night-Poujah.

XI.-4th.-Dossarah, as the name implies, falls on the tenth day of the new moon of May. It is a day dedicated to Ganga, the god of the river Ganges, who is said to have descended on the earth on that day of that month. It is also consecrated to Mounsha Thaukoorannee, goddess of serpents, and, according to the Shaster, is reputed to be the daughter of Seeb.

Fifth-Oupass Poujah.

XII.-5th.-Pournemi happens on the full of the moon of May, and is consecrated to Jaggernauth, the same with Vistnou. It is also called Ausnan Juttra, or general ablution; on account of the duty it imposes of bathing in the Ganges. It is incredible what a multitude of people of both sexes repair at the appointed hour to the borders of the Ganges.

Sixth-Oupass Pourob.

XIII.-6th.—Rhauth Jattrah happens the second day of the new moon of June: it is dedicated to Jaggernauth or Vistnou. On this day they draw the Rhauth or triumphal car of Jaggernauth for the space of a mile or so, and there leave it till the ninth of the same moon, when they draw it back again. From the seventh to the tenth, inclusive, they cease to purify the earth, and are not permitted to sweep it or to stir it in any manner whatsoever.

Seventh Oupass.

XIV.-7th.-Syon Ekkadossi, as the last words imply, falls on the eleventh of the new moon of June. It is a day of solemn fasting. They pretend that Jaggernauth or Vistnou, sleeps for four months, implying that the rains happen at this season, and last four months; when they no longer stand in need of Vistnou the conservator, seeing the rains preserve the harvests of grain.

Eighth-Oupass.

XV.-8th.-Pournemi, which, as the word implies, falls on the full of the moon of June. It is dedicated to bathing in the Ganges, and bestowing presents on the Brahmons.

Ninth-Oupass.

XVI.-9th.-Dowadossi, as the term signifies, happens on the twelfth day of the new moon of July; and it is customary to bathe in the Ganges and to bestow alms.

Tenth-Oupass Pourob.

XVII.-10th.-Ekkadossi, Teradossi, Chowtordossi, and Pournemi, that is to say the eleventh, thirteeth, fourteenth, or full moon of July, are dedicated to Joulna Juttrah or Kishen Thaukhoor; they are not ordained by the Shaster, and only the Kettri tribe of Hindoos observe them.

Eleventh-Oupass.

XVIII.-11th.-Jourmo Ootomi happens the eighth day after the full moon on the twenty-third day of the moon of July, and is dedicated to the birth of Kishen Thaukhoor, who they alledge was born to destroy Kunksoo rajah, a celebrated Ossoor and tyrant: it is a day of solemn fast.

Twelfth-Pourob.

XIX.—12th.—Locki Poujah happens the first Tuesday in the month of August. The Hindoos consider her as the goddess of grain, or Ceres, and pretend she is the wife of Vistnou the conservator. They keep her holyday in the time that the paddy is in ear, and it ends in a feast.

Thirteenth-Pourob.

XX.-13th.-Aununto Birto happens the fourteenth of August; and is dedicated to Vistnou, under the title Aununto or unknown; they make him offerings of grain, and the day closes with a feast.

Fourteenth-Oupass.

XXI.-14th.-Arondah Poujah happens on the twenty-third of August, and is dedicated to Mounsha Thaukoorany, goddess of serpents. It is a fast, but ends with a repast made of new rice dressed in the morning, and which they eat cold in the evening, from whence this feast derives its name Arondah.

[To be continued.]

REVIEW OF LITERATURE...

Qui monet quasi adjuvat.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Scenes of Youth; or Rural Recollections: with other Poems. By William Holloway. 12mo. 4s. Vernor and Hood. 1803.

THE "Peasant's Fate" of this author has passed on, we find, to a second impression, and thereby justified our favourable appreci ation of its poetical merits. The principal production in the present volume differs, in its structure and in its subject, from his former well-received work, but is certainly not less interesting. As the intention of the Peasant's Fate was to commiserate the misfortunes of the poor, and deplore the calamities of war; the object of the poet, in these pages, is to draw a comparison between private and public life, and to contrast city and country modes and manners; in the execution of which he has chosen the familiar and colloquial style of blank verse, as the best adapted to suit his purpose. In the same species of verse we pointed out a short poem in his former volume, which we thought was happily conducted. Practical experience has added to the facility of his pen; and we have many delineations throughout his "Scenes of Youth," that are selected with judgment, sketched with freedom, and coloured with fidelity.

The poem is extended to three books, which comprise the following arguments.

BOOK I.-Subject introduced. Rural Landscape. Village Flood. Childish Amusements. The Castle. The Bower. Man in the Moon. Fairy Ring. Evan the Parricide. Walter the Miller's Boy. Concluding Reflections, &c.

BOOK II.-Address to Friendship. Thoughts on Society. Solitude and Retirement. Pedantry. Wedding. Christening. Funeral. Mourning. Historical Readings. Effects of false Glory on Greece, Rome, &c. Hubert's Tale. Christmas Entertainment.

BOOK III.-View of former Days. Bull-baiting. Spanish and Portuguese Bull-fights. Moral Observations. Cock-fighting, &c. Rural Sports. Charity Schools. Sunday Schools, &c. Observations of the Sabbath. Village Matron. Comparisons between Art and Nature.

By those who still cherish a vivid recollection of early years, the following reflections will not be read with indifference, nor will the writer be charged with puerile egotism.

"Strange how, from sportive childhood's mental dawn,
The imitative faculties of man,

The pow'rs and passions ever keep in play,
To constant action form'd :---that sunny bank
Has witness'd oft the labours of my hand;
There, like another Crusoe, all alone,
Lost in soliloquy, I've toil'd, and delv'd
The rude foundations of a rustic pile;
Without the aid of geometric rule

The structure rose, and pleas'd the builder well;
'Twas call'd his CASTLE; and behind, a grove
Of elder boughs, stuck thick along the soil,
Wav'd their broad heads, with coral berries crown'd,`
And form'd a little wilderness of shade.

Hence Fancy wander'd thro' the woodland wilds,
Where, to the cruel ruffian's hand consign'd,

By perjur'd uncle, in a fatal hour,

The much-mourn'd infant orphans met their doom;
And oft I queried, as he hover'd round,

Whether my fav'rite robin, ever nigh,

Was not the self-same bird, whose pious bill

Cover'd with leaves the little luckless pair,

And pour'd, with plaintive trill, their funeral dirge."

Evan, the parricide, is a most pathetic and well-told tale; but considerably too long for the limits of our review. Walter, the miller's-boy, is in the same predicament. The closing reflections, however, are too just and too important to be omitted.

"Mind is essential to enjoy the scenes

Of unadulterate nature. Sage divines
Have oft averr'd---and frequently the theme
Has occupied my thoughts---the reprobate,

If once admitted at the ports of light
Where holiness and happiness abound,

Would find no joys congenial to his soul :--

So 'tis with him, whose bosom is untun'd

To the soft harmonies of humble life."

Book II. opens with a declaration of the author's sensations and sentiments, which regard man as a creature formed for society, and not as a solitary recluse; though he owns, and we think with propriety, that occasional

"Retirement is a temporary calm

Which lulls the weary bosom to repose."

His contrast between a rural wedding and a marriage a la mode, is striking, and drawn with equal force and truth. The christening and funeral are also highly characteristic: and the modish mourner is censured in a strain of irony not unworthy of Dr. Young.

"The fashionable fool

Sighs for a mourning, as a birth-day dress;

t