conduces to the reformation of adults, is still more surely destructive of the moral welfare of youth. The lad on his arrival in the colony should be free, subject only to the restraint of apprenticeship, and to the small debt which he would have to repay to the Government when in a situation to earn for himself.

The object of the preceding observations is not so much to advocate any particular system of discipline, as to urge the necessity of pursuing the reform which has been set on foot in the management of our prisons. These subjects have been sadly neglected by preceding governments; and the interest evinced in them by Lord John Russell reflects the highest honour on him personally, as well as on the Government of which he is so distinguished a member. We are sure that it will not be the fault of his Lordship, or of Mr. Crawford, if a vigorous and uniform system of discipline be not speedily introduced. On the continent there are not wanting those who are labouring early and late to the same end. In Germany, the indefatigable Dr Julius, Inspector of Prussian prisons; in France, M. Charles Lucas, to whose work we have had occasion so frequently to refer; in Belgium, M. Edouard Ducpétiaux, Inspector-General for that kingdom;—are distinguished as the enlightened promoters of useful reforms. Our magistrates are in general well disposed to receive practical suggestions for the improvement of their respective prisons, and there is a fair field for the revision of the existing laws. That such revision will take place in a spirit of discreet philanthropy is our anxious hope;--that it may consist not in that maudlin sympathy which would place the prisoner in a position of greater physical comfort than the free labourer, but in that judicious system of management which may tend in reality to deter and reform him. There are indeed subjects more attractive-questions more stirring-than that of prison discipline; it presents no pathos of ambition-raises no strife of party politics:-it has purer and higher aims. At present it presents an extended sphere of usefulness, and ample opportunities of doing good to our species. May it be the care of our Legislature to turn such opportunities to the best account-to do what in it lies to convert our prisons from being the plague-houses of vicious contagion, into purifying asylums for the recovery of moral health!

ART. IV.-Ramaseeana; or, a Vocabulary of the peculiar language used by the Thugs. With an Introduction and Appendix, descriptive of the system pursued by that Fraternity; and of the measures which have been adopted by the Supreme Government of India for its suppression. 8vo. Calcutta: 1836.

has often been said, and we fear with too much truth, that I'Indian subjects do not excite, in this country, an interest at all proportioned to their importance. We shall, however, be much surprised if what we now have to relate should fail to rouse the attention of the most sluggish reader.

We have to introduce to the knowledge of our countrymen a moral and political phenomenon, which is, perhaps, the most extraordinary that has ever existed in the world,-a phenomenon more striking than any thing that romancers have feigned touching the Old Man of the Mountain, or the Secret Tribunals of Germany;-a phenomenon, of which strange and appalling glimpses have been occasionally obtained, but of which the nature and extent have never, till the present time, been fully understood.

It appears, then, from the most overwhelming evidence, that there exists in India a vast fraternity of murderers, consisting of many thousands of persons;-that this fraternity has existed for many ages, and through many political revolutions; that it has spread its ramifications over the whole of that vast country, from Cape Comorin to the Himalayas;-that it has flourished alike under Hindu, Mahomedan, and British rulers;-that it has every year destroyed niultitudes of victims; and yet that its constitution -we may say its very being-have been quite unknown to the most active and vigilant English functionaries, and very imperfectly understood even by the native governments. It was indeed notorious, that gangs of thieves sometimes strangled travellers. It was notorious, that the members of these gangs were unusually expert at the operation of strangling; but that these gangs were merely small detached portions of a vast organized community, the members of which recognized each other as brethren in the remotest parts of India;—that these murders were all committed according to certain ancient and solemn forms, and were regarded by those who committed them, not as crimes, but as solemn rites, which it would have been sinful to omit-all this it was reserved for the present generation to discover. One of

the many obligations which India owes to Lord William Bentinck, is the complete unveilling of this horrible and portentous system. The book now before us, is a collection of official papers, printed by the Indian Government for the imformation of its officers. No attempt has been made to digest into one connected statement the many interesting facts which these papers disclose. The book has not been published, and is, therefore, inaccessible to common readers; and even were it accessible to them, they would probably be repelled by the ohscurity which is the effect of an utter want of arrangement. We think, therefore, that we shall certainly amuse them, and that we may perhaps instruct them, if we undertake to sum up the evidence on this extraordinary subject. We shall confine ourselves at present almost entirely to facts, and put off to another opportunity most of those curious speculations on human nature and on the frame of Indian society, to which the recent discoveries naturally lead.

The most interesting of the papers consists of a series of conversations with the captains of gangs, who have been admitted as king's evidence, from which we shall make liberal extracts.

These extraordinary people are known by the name of Thugs, and their profession is called Thuggee. They are divided into Burkas, or persons fully instructed in the art, and Kuboolas or novices. They consider a Burka as capable of forming a gang of Thugs out of the rude materials around him in any part of • India; and a Thug who has arrived at this degree of proficiency in the art, ought not therefore to be left at large. A Kuboola, or Novice, they think, could do nothing if left to himself, and he might, therefore, be left at large without much danger to society, if he had no leader to join.'

These are by no means nominal distinctions. No Thug is allowed to take his degree as a Burka, or to assume the office of strangler, until he has been on many expeditions, and acquired the requisite courage and insensibility by slow degrees.

They are first employed as scouts; then as sextons; then as shumseeas or holders of hands; and lastly as Bhurtotes or stranglers. When a man feels that he has sufficient courage and insensibility for the purpose, he solicits the oldest and most renowned Thug of the gang to make him his cheyla, or disciple. The Thug agrees to become his gooroo, or spiritual preceptor; and when the gang falls in with a man of respectability but not much strength, fitted for the purpose, he tells the gooroo that he is prepared, with his permission, to try his hands upon him. While the traveller is asleep with the gang at their quaters, the gooroo takes his disciple into a neighbouring field, followed by three or four old members of the gang. On reaching the spot chosen, they all face to the direction the gang intends to move, and the gooroo says,

Oh

Kalee, Kunkalee, Bhudkalee. Oh Kalee, Mahakalee, Calcutta Walee If it seemeth to thee fit that the traveller now at our lodging shoula die by the hands of this thy slave, vouchsafe us the Thibaoo.' If they get the auspice on the right, within a certain time (half an hour), it signifies her sanction; but if they have no sign, or the pilhaoo (or sign on the left), some other Thug must put the traveller to death, and the candidate for honour wait for another time.

Davey's sanction having been conveyed in the Thibaoo, they return to their quarters, and the gooroo takes a handkerchief, and facing to the west, ties the knot at one end of it with a rupee or other piece of silver inserted. This knot they call the Goor-knat, or classic knot, and no man who has not been thus ordained by the high priest, is permitted to tie it. The disciple receives it respectfully from the high priest in his right hand, and stands over the victim, with a shumseea, or holder of hands by his side. The traveller is roused on some pretence or other, and the disciple passes the handkerchief over his neck, at the signal given by the leader of the gang, and strangles him with the aid of his shumseea. Having finished his work, he bows down before his gooroo, and touches his feet with both hands, and does the same to all his relations and friends present, in gratitude for the honour he has attained. He opens the knot after he has heard or seen the Thibaoo, or auspice on the right, takes out the rupee and gives it, with all the other silver he has, to his gooroo, as a nuzur; and the gooroo adding what money he has at the time, purchases a rupee and a quarter's worth of sugar for the Tuponee, and lays out the rest in sweetmeats. The Tuponee sacrifice is then performed under the neem, the mango, or the byr, if they are available, and if not, under any other tree, except the babul, the sirsa (mimosa seris), and the reonja. The new disciple now takes his seat among the Bhurtotes around the carpet, and receives his share of the consecrated sugar; and the sweetmeats are distributed to all the members of the gang, of whatever grade. On his return home after the expedition, he gives a feast to his gooroo and his family, and, if he has the means, to all his relations; and he presents his gooroo with an entire new suit of clothes for himself, and one for his wife, and others for his relations, if he can afford it. The gooroo, after a certain interval, returns the compliment to him and his family, and the relation between them is ever after respected as the most sacred that can be formed. A Thug will often rather betray his father than the gooroo by whom he has been knighted.'

The Thugs travel along the roads under various assumed characters, in parties varying from ten or twelve to several hundreds. They appear as traders, as pilgrims, as sepoys seeking or returning from service; and sometimes one of their number figures as a Raja, with all the necessary equipments of tents, carriage, &c., and the rest act the part of his obsequious followers. If the gang is numerous, they are divided into separate parties, who follow each other at some distance, or, taking different routes, rendezvous at an appointed place in advance. always travellers. The most expert employed to collect information, and

VOL. LXIV. NO. CXXX.

Their victims are almost members of the gang are insinuate themselves into

2A

the confidence of the travellers whom they find at the resting places, or overtake on the road. They usually propose to them to join company for mutual safety; and if the traveller suspects one party, he soon falls in with another, who pretend to enter into his feelings of distrust. A person is sent before to select a proper place for the murder, and scouts are employed to prevent intrusion. The travellers are generally induced to sit down under pretence of resting themselves, and they are strangled at once on a given signal. The bodies are then buried, after having been mangled to expedite dissolution, and to prevent their swelling and causing cracks in the ground. Two Thugs are employed in the murder of each individual, one of whom holds his legs or hands, while the other applies the noose. If a traveller have a dog, it is also killed, lest the faithful animal should cause the discovery of the body of its murdered master.

The best way, however, of conveying an adequate idea of the mode in which the murders are commited, will be to select some of the most striking instances before us. The first we shall extract will show the confidence the Thugs repose in the power of concealment which belongs to their system. There is dark'ness under the lamp,' says the Hindustani proverb; and such would, indeed, appear to be the case, when a whole family with their servants could be murdered under the circumstances about to be detailed, without any discovery taking place.

We fell in,' said Chutter, a leading Thug, with the Moonshee and his family at Chupara, between Nagpore and Jubulpore; and they came on with us to Luckadown, where we found that some companies of a native regiment under European officers were expected the next morning. It was determined to put them all to death that evening, as the Moonshee seemed likely to keep with the companies. Our encampment was near the village, and the Moon hee's tent was pitched close to us. In the afternoon some of the officers' tents came on in advance, and were pitched on the other side, leaving us between them and the village. The servants were all busily occupied in pitching them. Noor Khan and his son Sadee Khan and a few others, went, as soon as it became dark, to the Moonshee's tent, and began to sing and play upon a guitar, as they had been accustomed to do. During this time some of them took up the Moonshee's sword on pretence of wishing to look at it. His wife and children were inside listening to the music. The Jhirnee or signal was given, but at this moment the Moonshee saw his danger, called out murder, and attempted to rush through, but was seized and strangled. His wife hearing him, ran out with the infant in her arms, but was seized by Ghubboo Khan, who strangled her and took the infant. The other daughter was strangled in the tent. The grooms were at the time cleaning their horses, and one of them seeing his danger, ran under the belly of his horse, and called out murder; but he was soon seized and strangled, as well as all the rest.