The houses of the great mass of the Hindoos are made with little trouble or expence, and in a very short time. A numberof mats, formed ol the leaves of the palm or cocoa nut tree, are spread over a roof made of bamboo laths, whilst the bamboo, unsplit, forms the supports of the house. In it, a Hindoo can live for six months in those parts of Hindostan which are not subject to much rain. Tho houses of rather a better description have wails made of mud, which the intense heat of the climate soon renders sufficiently hard. These walls are raised to the height of six or seven feet ; the co vering consists of rushes or rice,straw. On the west of India, the practice of,covering houses with tiles is general. Different styles of building prevail to the north and the south of the Krishna. To the north of this river, the roofs are in many cases pitched and thatched ; to the south, those of the lower classes are flat roofed, and covered with mud and clay. The houses in the south of India, also, usually consist only of one story, enclosing a court, with a small gallery supported by slight wooden pillars. The houses of the more opulent consist of two stories, and are sometimes built of brick. The upper story is set apart for sleeping, studying, or performing any business in which they do not wish to be interrupted. On the floor of a gallery which runs out towards the street, and is raised a little above it, the palanquin bearers, and other attend ants, often lie down. The cement employed in the con struction of the best houses is composed of sugar and lime. The best sort of cari, which is used in painting their houses, is produced in North Canara.
The furniture of the houses is in general very simple. The floors of those of the lower classes are either the bare mud, or are covered with straw. The floors of the apart ments of the higher classes are covered with mats and carpets, over which is frequently laid white cotton cloth. The other articles of furniture in the common houses con sist of a bed-frame, on which a mat is placed ; a few flat dishes of copper or brass ; a brass drinking vessel with a spout ; a pot in which they boil their rice ; a lamp ; and a large wooden mortar to pound the rice. A Hindoo has table: he eats alone upon the bare ground. The whole of what may be called his table service consists of a brass ba sin and an earthen plate.
From the account we have given of the dress and food of the Hindoos, it may easily be perceived that the ex pences of their mode of living must be very trifling ; otherwise, indeed, it would be impossible for the Hindoo labourer, whose wages seldom reach five shillings a month, and is in general much lower, should be able to support himself and family. On this subject there is some curi ous and interesting information in the reports on the af fairs of the East India Company laid before Parliament.
The following table exhibits a statement of the expences and earnings of the family of a Madras labourer, consist ing of himself, his wife, and five children, the eldest eigh* years of age,—the youngest an infant, visions ; and forty magistrates station'd in as many differ ent d stricts arid cities. The territories subject to the Ma dras presidency arc divided into twenty-one districts : those under the Bombay presidency are less numerous, and less clearly defined. Besides magistrates for the ad ministration of justice, the East India Company have col lectors of revenue in all the districts. This revenue is almost entirely derived from lam', salt, and opium ; it amounts to about seventeen millions annually. ln time of war, the troops in the pay of tip, Company generally amount to about I 5n,000, of which there are seldom more than 25,000 Europeans ; the rest are native troops. The number of British born subjects in India (exclusive of those in the army) is about 6000 or 7000.
The ancient languages of India are supposed to have been the Sanscrit ; the Pracrit ; the Patsaichi, and the Magadhi; the Sanscrit is still cultivated as of language of literature, science, laws, and religion ; of the Pracrit, or spoken language, there appear to have been 10 dia lects; that still called Pracrlt is spoken on the banks of the Seraswattee ; in it great part of most of the Hindoo dramas, and many poems, are written ; the next dialect of the Pracrit, named from the Canujaeubjas, who anciently spoke it, is supposed to be the ground-work of the mo dern Hindostanee ; the Gaura, or Bengalee, is spoken in Calcutta, and in Bengal on the banks of the Ganges ; the Maihhala is used in the Circar of Tirkut ; the Uriga, in Orissa; the Guzcratic, which is not unlike the Hindos tanee, is spoken not only in Guzcrat, but at Surat, Tatta, &c. The Tamelor Malabar extends from Cape Comorin to Canara ; the Mahratta prevails through the whole of the Mahratta territories ; the Canara is spoken in the mountainous district which lies between the eastern and western divisions of the ancient Carnataca ; and extends as far as Goa ; the Talenga is spoken on the coast of Orissa, in Golconda, on the Khrishna, and as far as the ceded dis tricts.
The most venerated books among the Hindoos are the Vedas and the two great poems ; only the three highest castes are permitted to read these. The Vedas treat of all the different branches of knowledge ; the two great poems arc the Ramayuna of Valmiki, and the Mahabha rut, which contains the adventures of Krishna; there are also other ancient epic poems, besides dramas and lyric poems, in high esteem among the Hindoos ; of their dra mas, Sacontala, or the fatal ring, has been translated by Sir William Jones and Mr. Wilkins.