They believe it to issue from the foot of a goddess, and that the deities themselves take delight in seeing it flow. Near the source of one of the branches of the Ganges is a temple dedicated to Ramachandra. This temple, the Brahmins living near it insist, has been in existence upward of 10,000 years. One part of the duty of these Brahmins is daily to feed the fish, which are so tame as to suffer themselves to be handled. At the point where the united streams of the Ganges first enter the plains of Hindustan, there is a meeting every twelfth year, for the double purpose of holding a fair and bathing in the stream. The multitudes assembled on these occasions are incredible. They pour in towards the end of the festival from all parts of India: Captain Raper reckons their number at two millions, and Colonel Hardwicke at two millions and a half. They bring their own provisions with them; and the festival is called the "Mela." The Ganges issues from a bed of snow, and above its outlet hang large masses of icicles. The width of the stream is twenty-seven feet, its greatest depth eighteen inches, and its shallowest eight inches. Here the Ganges first sees the sun, at a height of 12,914 feet above the level of the sea. The Siamese once worshipped the Meinam; the ancient Gaurs enacted a law prohibiting any one from sailing on rivers; and the Shastah directs frequent washings in rivulets, and frequent pilgrimages to distant streams. The Cashmirians believe that they derive all their comeliness from the purity and brilliancy of their rivers and springs, and the ancient Indian kings were accustomed to throw bulls and black horses into the Indus at the time of its overflow. Many Tartar tribes, particularly those that trade to Astrakhan, worship water, which is always kept ready in a large marine shell; and, like the Icelanders, they always take off their caps before they pass a river, and never fail to return thanks for their safety after they have crossed. Poetical Allusions to Rivers.-Rivers have, in all ages, been themes for the poet; and in what esteem they were held by ancient writers, may be inferred from the number of authors who wrote of them before the time of Plutarch. The Aufidus, the Tiber, and the Po have been celebrated by Horace, Virgil, and Ovid; Callimachus has immortalized the beautiful waters of the Inachus; and while the Arno, the Mincio, and the Tagus boast their Petrarch, Boccacio, and Camöens, the Severn and the Trent, the Avon, Derwent, and Dee, have been distinguished by the praises of many an elegant poet. Ossian was never weary of comparing rivers to heroes; and so enamoured were Du Bartas and Drayton with river scenery, that the one wrote a poetical catalogue of those which were the most celebrated, and the other composed a voluminous work upon their history, topography, and landscapes. De Lille directs us to rear the monument of a friend on the banks of a river, since, lulled by the music of waters, he will enjoy a more pleasing slumber than in the midst of an assemblage of tombs of marble. Camöens fancies the nymphs of the waters to have often seen him strolling by moonlight along the green shores of the Tagus; and beautifully pathetic is the passage in a small ballad of Logan, where, describing the wanderings of a mother and sister, the poet heightens the solemn simplicity of the scene by alluding to the sound of the stream as it flowed through the forest. His mother from the window look'd With all the longing of a mother; His little sister weeping walk'd The greenwood path to meet her brother : They only saw the cloud of night, They only heard the roar of Yarrow! Ablutions.-Bathing in rivers and seas is a great luxury in warm countries. The Otaheitans bathe C frequently, and the negroes of Ardrah wash twice a day, and perfume themselves with aromatic herbs. To the former, the most favourite of all amusements is bathing; and the higher the surf of the ocean, the greater is the diversion. The natives of the Sandwich Islands, also, are such excellent swimmers, that a canoe with a woman and her children being overset, Captain Cook observed a child of four years old swimming about it, apparently highly delighted, till it was restored to its upright position. Ablutions were frequently practised among the Jews, the Sampsæi, the Greeks, and the Romans. The Gentoo women bathe in a stream before they sacrifice themselves on the funeral piles of their husbands; and the custom of immersing newborn infants in rivers and fountains, which prevailed in Syria during the reign of Antiochus, exists in many parts of India, Turkey, and China. The Mexicans, in the same manner, bathe their children as soon as they are born. In performing this ceremony, the midwife says, "Receive the water; for the goddess Chalciuhcueje is the mother. May this water cleanse thee from the spots which thou bearest from thy mother, purify thy heart, and give thee a good and perfect life!" In another part of the ceremony, she says, "May the invisible God descend upon this water, and cleanse thee of every sin and impurity, and free thee from evil fortune!" Then," Lovely child! the gods have created thee in the highest place of heaven, in order to send thee into the world; but know that the life on which thou art entering is painful and full of misery; nor wilt thou be able to eat thy bread without labour. May God assist thee in the many adversities which await thee!" The whole ceremony is curious and interesting; and for farther information the inquisitive reader may consult the History of Mexico, written by the Abbé Clavigero. The Brahmins of Hindustan bathe their newborn children in like manner. Having washed the child with water, a relation holds the point of a pen to its forehead, and prays the Deity "to write good things thereon." He then makes a mark with red ointment, saying, "O Lord, we present this child, born of a holy tribe, to thee and thy service. It is cleansed with water and anointed with oil." A custom prevailed in the fourteenth century, among the women residing on the banks of the Rhine, of assembling on a particular day of the year to wash their hands and arms in that river, fondly flattering themselves that such lustrations would preserve them from all dangers and misfortunes during the remainder of the year. This ceremony, witnessed by Petrarch, gave him great satisfaction. 66 Happy," said he to himself," are these women, since their river runs away with all their miseries. Ah! happy should we be in Italy if the Tiber and the Mincio possessed the same virtue. These fortunate people waft all their misfortunes on the bosom of their river to the English: we would willingly present ours in the same manner to the Moors of Africa, if our rivers would only bear the burden; but they will not." Historical Associations.-Many and deeply affecting are the associations connected with rivers. With the NILE we associate the rebuke of Apollonius of Tyana to the cruel natives of Egypt. "Reverence the Nile," said he; "but why do I mention the Nile among men who prefer measuring the rising of blood to the rising of water?" Are our thoughts turned to the SENEGAL? So beautiful are its banks, that we may fancy that we are gazing upon the primitive simplicity of the first parents of mankind; blooming, as it were, in the morning of nature. To the CYDNUS? In a barge, whose poop was of beaten gold; whose oars were of silver, moved to the melody of flutes; and whose purple sails were scented with spicy odours, reclines the luxurious Cleopatra, in a pavilion covered with silk. On each side of her stand boys, like cupids, fanning her with various-coloured fans, while delicious perfumes pervade the vessel. Antony sups with the queen; she wins his heart, and he loses the empire of the world! Does the classical stranger stand on the banks of the Issus? He is reminded of that battle in which the Persians lost 10,000 horse, 100,000 foot, and 40,000 prisoners, while Alexander lost but 450 soldiers. In this decisive battle the Macedonian monarch took Sisygambis, the mother of Darius, prisoner: she who afterward slew herself on the death of her conqueror, having already witnessed the fate of her husband and eighty of her brothers, the destruction of her son, the loss of an empire, and the ruin of her subjects. The TIBER! Who is not alive to the splendour of its ancient glory? And what a contrast is offered by its present condition? "Its destiny," says a French traveller, "is altogether strange. It passes through a corner of Rome as if it did not exist. No one deigns to cast his eyes towards it; no one speaks of it; no one drinks its waters; and the women do not even use it for washing. It steals away between the paltry houses which conceal it, and hastens to precipitate itself into the sea, ashamed of its modern appellation-Tevere." The VISTULA! It is immortalized by the death of Vanda, duchess of Poland. Vanda was the mostbeautiful and accomplished princess of the age in which she lived. Rithogar, a Teutonic prince, hearing of her fame, despatched an ambassador to demand her in marriage, with orders to declare war if she should refuse his offer. This rude method of courtship not pleasing the duchess, the prince prepared for war. Vanda marched at the head of her troops, and encountered Rithogar on the banks of the Vistula. The soldiers of the prince fled at the first onset; and thus losing the battle, Rithogar |