DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14729#0245
THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE EAST,
187
ascertain whether they are still living ; when death ensues,
they purchase a sufficiency of wood to make a funeral-pile,
and commit the body to the flam es ; when their means do
not afford the expense of doing this, they merely burn a por-
tion of the face, and then push the body into the sacred river.
When a'patient, thus situated, happens to recover, he
considers that he has, as it were, acquired a new life, and
thenceforth all his former relations and friends are treated
as strangers ; he never returns to the dwelling in which he
had formerly resided, but wanders down the Ganges, until he
arrives at Santipore, near Calcutta, where he settles himself ;
and if is a curious fact, that nearly the whole population of
Santipore is composed of such persons. These people never
again hold any communication with those who had been
nearest and dearest to them ; and they contract marriages
amongst themselves only. This town or colony, the only one,
perhaps, of its kind in the world, may be called the " Colony
of Convalescents." The Ganges teems with crocodiles, and
wild geese are found in great abundance.
When I arrived at Calcutta,'I found that one of the
finest merchant vessels, called the " Prince of Wales," be-
longing to Messieurs Green and Compy. was jabout to sail
for England. I made arrangements for my passage home-
ward, and after a week's stay only in Calcutta, went on
board. This short stay at the capital of Bengal, prevented
my observing any of the operations of the celebrated Dr.
James Esdaile ( now in Scotland ) whose cases of amputa-
tion, &c, performed without pain, and without the use of
chloroform, &c, while the patient was under mesmeric in-
fluence, were then attracting considerable attention. The
Lelhi Gazette of India observed—" Though Dr. Esdaile's
performances are not yet countenanced by the faculty, let us
hope that he possesses moral courage sufficient to prosecute
his measures."
We enjoyed the most delightful weather during the
voyage; the only annoyance being the frequent calms,
which caused us to be two months in reaching the Cape of
Good Hope. In the beginning of April we reached Cape
28
187
ascertain whether they are still living ; when death ensues,
they purchase a sufficiency of wood to make a funeral-pile,
and commit the body to the flam es ; when their means do
not afford the expense of doing this, they merely burn a por-
tion of the face, and then push the body into the sacred river.
When a'patient, thus situated, happens to recover, he
considers that he has, as it were, acquired a new life, and
thenceforth all his former relations and friends are treated
as strangers ; he never returns to the dwelling in which he
had formerly resided, but wanders down the Ganges, until he
arrives at Santipore, near Calcutta, where he settles himself ;
and if is a curious fact, that nearly the whole population of
Santipore is composed of such persons. These people never
again hold any communication with those who had been
nearest and dearest to them ; and they contract marriages
amongst themselves only. This town or colony, the only one,
perhaps, of its kind in the world, may be called the " Colony
of Convalescents." The Ganges teems with crocodiles, and
wild geese are found in great abundance.
When I arrived at Calcutta,'I found that one of the
finest merchant vessels, called the " Prince of Wales," be-
longing to Messieurs Green and Compy. was jabout to sail
for England. I made arrangements for my passage home-
ward, and after a week's stay only in Calcutta, went on
board. This short stay at the capital of Bengal, prevented
my observing any of the operations of the celebrated Dr.
James Esdaile ( now in Scotland ) whose cases of amputa-
tion, &c, performed without pain, and without the use of
chloroform, &c, while the patient was under mesmeric in-
fluence, were then attracting considerable attention. The
Lelhi Gazette of India observed—" Though Dr. Esdaile's
performances are not yet countenanced by the faculty, let us
hope that he possesses moral courage sufficient to prosecute
his measures."
We enjoyed the most delightful weather during the
voyage; the only annoyance being the frequent calms,
which caused us to be two months in reaching the Cape of
Good Hope. In the beginning of April we reached Cape
28